Skip to content
live

Philpott joins Wilson-Raybould in resigning from cabinet over SNC-Lavalin

'I have lost confidence', says Jane Philpott in her cabinet resignation letter.
philpott
Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott speaks at the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs meeting in Ottawa, Wednesday, December 5, 2018. Philpott has resigned from cabinet. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Treasury Board president Jane Philpott has resigned from the federal cabinet, saying she's lost confidence in the way the Trudeau government has dealt with the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Philpott's resignation comes just less than a month after former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet amid allegations that the Prime Minister's Office had improperly pressured her to stop a criminal prosecution of Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.

Philpott is good friends with Wilson-Raybould, who delivered bombshell testimony last week accusing officials of relentlessly pressuring her and even issuing veiled threats to try to get her to co-operate.

Philpott says she has serious concerns about evidence of inappropriate interference in the attorney general's prosecutorial discretion in criminal cases.

Moreover, she says the principle of cabinet solidarity requires all ministers to speak in support of the government and its policies at all times - a requirement she now finds "untenable".

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Philpott to Treasury Board in mid-January, after Scott Brison left the post and retired from politics.

Rogers Sports & Media
2001 Thurston Drive Ottawa, ON, K1G 6C9
© 2006-2023 Rogers Sports & Media. All rights reserved.
push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks