Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has given poor leadership to Canadians, and the report of the Ethics Commissioner only confirms that, said Dr. Robert Kitchen, MP for Souris-Moose Mountain. (He is shown speaking at the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show in June.)
He provided comments on the ongoing scandal in the SNC-Lavalin affair, and noted he and his team are gearing up for the federal election, expected to be underway some time in September.
The Ethics Commissioner report “shows Canadians the terrible leadership we have from this present government, and Prime Minister who is the champion of that,” said Kitchen.
The commissioner said in the report, in reference to the former Attorney-General of Canada, “The Prime Minister, directly and through his senior officials, used various means to exert influence over Ms. Wilson-Raybould. The authority of the Prime Minister and his office was used to circumvent, undermine and ultimately attempt to discredit the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions as well as the authority of Ms. Wilson-Raybould as the Crown’s chief law officer.”
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer made a request on Monday to the RCMP Commissioner to open an investigation into Trudeau’s actions, saying in a letter, “I believe I speak for millions of Canadians by requesting that you use all the resources at your disposal to investigate this matter, not only so that justice is done but so that it is seen to be done.”
MP Kitchen noted that Trudeau was made aware of the findings of the Ethics Commissioner some time ago, with plenty of time to respond.
“His response has been to say he’s not going to apologize to Canadians. He’ll apologize for all sorts of things, but not for actions that he takes,” he said.
The wrong actions taken by the prime minister and senior officials in his office were also pointed out by Wilson-Raybould when she testified about what happened in regard to SNC-Lavalin, as undue pressure was put on her not to prosecute the construction company.
In saying he would not apologize, Trudeau said his reason is that he was fighting for Canadian jobs as Canadians expect him to be doing.
With the federal election looming, Kitchen said this issue, and that of the economy, are going to be huge as they get underway with the campaign. While Trudeau was worried about jobs related to SNC-Lavalin, the Liberals haven’t been so worried about the challenges facing the economy in the agricultural and energy sectors.
Producers are facing challenges to marketing canola and beef, and in regard to energy, there has been no federal support to help the oil industry out as it has been struggling for a long time.
Kitchen pointed out that investment dollars for oil and gas are leaving Canada because of the policies of the Liberal government.
As one example, he noted there are maybe 20 or 30 active rigs in southeast Saskatchewan. “In North Dakota, they have over 80 rigs going in the same formation as our rigs. Our economy is hurting because of that.”
Another huge challenge is the Liberal plan to shut down coal-fired electrical generating plants, which will have a huge impact on Estevan and Coronach where SaskPower has major power generating plants. The shutdown of those plants will also have a negative impact on surrounding towns and cities, including Weyburn, while the Liberals ignore the environmental benefits of carbon capture and sequestration, which are in use especially at the Boundary Dam in Estevan.
“The trickle-down impact on the community will hit restaurants, grocery stores, supply stores — all of these will feel the impact,” said Kitchen.
