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News > World

Pressure Mounts on PM Trudeau as Top Minister Philpott Quits

  • Newly appointed president of the Treasury Board Jane Philpott poses for a photo with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during Trudeau's cabinet shuffle, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, January 14, 2019.

    Newly appointed president of the Treasury Board Jane Philpott poses for a photo with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during Trudeau's cabinet shuffle, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, January 14, 2019. | Photo: REUTERS/Patrick Doyle/File Photo

Published 5 March 2019
Opinion

The pressure on Canadian Liberal Prime Minister to resign has increased after his top minister Jane Philpott resigned Monday, citing a "lack of confidence in the Canadian government."

Justin Trudeau's top minister resigned Monday after losing confidence in the Canadian government over their handling of a corruption inquiry.

RELATED:
Indigenous Former AG Accuses Trudeau of Political Interference

Treasury Board President Jane Philpott said: "I must abide by my core values, my ethical responsibilities, constitutional obligations."

Mr Trudeau said he was disappointed by the resignation, but understood it.

In a short statement, Mr Trudeau thanked Ms Philpott for "her years of service and her dedication to Canadians."

And commenting on the growing political scandal at a rally in Toronto later, the prime minister said: "Concerns of this nature must be taken seriously and I can ensure you that I am."

The Liberal PM has denied political meddling to shield engineering firm SNC-Lavalin from a bribery trial, according to BBC.

Opposition Conservatives last week called on the Liberal PM to resign, according to BBC. This comes after the PM defended Quebec-based SNC-Lavalin - one of the world's largest engineering and construction companies, over allegations that they offered C$48m ($36m; £28m) as a bribe to Libyan officials between 2001-11. 

Philpott detailed her "serious concerns" with "evidence of efforts by politicians and/or officials to pressure the former Attorney General to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin."

"There can be a cost to acting on one's principles, but there is a bigger cost to abandoning them," she said in a statement.

"It is a fundamental doctrine of the rule of law that our Attorney General should not be subjected to political pressure or interference regarding the exercise of her prosecutorial discretion in criminal cases," she wrote.

"Sadly, I have lost confidence in how the government has dealt with this matter and in how it has responded to the issues raised."

Philpott joins Jody Wilson-Raybould, Canada's first Indigenous justice minister, in resigning, after she left earlier this month over the SNC-Lavalin controversy.

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