Committee chair says probe of Wilson-Raybould affair a possibility
OTTAWA — The Liberal chair of the House of Commons justice committee is open to probing whether the Prime Minister’s Office tried to influence the former justice minister not to proceed with a prosecution of Quebec corporate giant SNC-Lavalin.
The justice committee meets Wednesday at the request of opposition MPs to decide whether to launch such a study. Liberals hold a majority on the committee and will decide whether the study gets the green light or not.
Anthony Housefather, a Montreal Liberal MP who has chaired the committee for the last three years, said if the members can come together in a non-partisan fashion, they could help get to the bottom of the allegations rocking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
“The question is whether a partisan committee is the right place to do that type of review,” he said in an interview. “On the other hand, as many people tell me, well, where else will it be done? If our committee is able to work collegially and in a non-partisan way, maybe we can be helpful to this process. That is what I think me and all my colleagues are weighing.”