Canadian budget minister resigns in government scandal

A minister in the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resigned, becoming the second cabinet member to step down amid allegations of government involvement in a major fraud case.

Treasury Board President Jane Philpott announced her resignation on Monday, saying she had “lost confidence” in Trudeau’s government over the allegation that senior officials in his office had attempted to block the prosecution of a major Canadian engineering company in a case involving corruption charges in Libya.

Philpott is said to be a close friend of former attorney general and justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who testified last week that Trudeau and senior members of his government had made consistent efforts to dissuade her from prosecuting construction firm SNC-Lavalin.

Trudeau has denied the accusation.

The Quebec-based engineering giant was charged in 2015 with bribing Libyan officials to obtain multi-billion dollar contracts between 2001 and 2011, during former dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.

“I have been considering the events that have shaken the federal government in recent weeks and after serious reflection, I have concluded that I must resign as a member of Cabinet,” Philpott said in a resignation letter posted on Twitter.

“The solemn principles at stake are the independence and integrity of our justice system... Sadly, I have lost confidence in how the government has dealt with this matter and in how it has responded to the issues raised,” she added.

SS