A very Canadian irony

Well, that’s pretty ironic:

— Everyone knew SNC-Lavalin was guilty of fraud, corruption, and bribery. 

— The Prime Minister and his staff couldn’t convince the government’s Justice Minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to issue a Deferred Prosecution Agreement, which would have  fined the company a large chunk of cash but would have allowed it to continue to bid on government projects.

— Wilson-Raybould was removed from her position in the next Cabinet Shuffle and, when she continued to protest, also removed from the Liberal Party. 

— That Party took a significant hit in opinion polls, as did the Prime Minister. 

— The Conservative Party started to smell electoral blood, and in the subsequent election campaign made the Prime Minister’s “failings” a major part of their strategy.

— When the dust settled, the Liberals had formed a minority government and Prime Minister Trudeau was still Canada’s Prime Minister. That government is going to be relying on the NDP and/or the Bloc Quebecois to pass any legislation. Which is potentially, if past history is any guide, the Conservative’s worst nightmare come true.

— Wilson-Raybould was re-elected in her Vancouver seat, but as an independent member of Parliament. This is about as insignificant as possible, and she’s left fighting and losing a battle with the Speaker about offices.

— The Conservatives won the Prairies, but lost almost everything else. Then they lost their leader, who also happens to be Leader of the Opposition.

— SNC-Lavalin makes a deal with the Crown to drop 4 of 5 charges, plead guilty to to one count of fraud, pay a very large fine, and continue to have access to government contracts.

— Which is almost exactly what the purpose of the proposed DPA was. 

—In  fact, the only difference is that now SNC-Lavalin has been officially pronounced “guilty”. 

-- Which, as I pointed out initially, everyone knew all along.

And as is usual in these cases where greed and political advantage intersect, the only winners are the lawyers.