Tuesday March 5, 2019
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 5, 2019
Jane Philpott resigns from cabinet, citing loss of ‘confidence’ over government’s handling of SNC-Lavalin
February 9, 2019
Jane Philpott, one of Justin Trudeau’s most trusted ministers, announced today she has resigned from cabinet as the Liberal government’s crisis over the SNC-Lavalin affair deepens.
“I must abide by my core values, my ethical responsibilities and constitutional obligations,” she said in a written statement.
“There can be a cost to acting on one’s principles, but there is a bigger cost to abandoning them.”
Trudeau later praised Philpott for her diligent work on crucial government files.
Philpott, the MP for Markham-Stouffville, said she has been considering the events that have shaken the federal government in recent weeks and, after “serious reflection,” concluded she must quit.
She said the constitutional convention of cabinet solidarity means ministers are expected to defend all cabinet decisions and other ministers publicly, and must speak in support of the government and its policies.
August 20, 2016
“Given this convention and the current circumstances, it is untenable for me to continue to serve as a cabinet minister,” she wrote.
“Unfortunately, the evidence of efforts by politicians and/or officials to pressure the former attorney general to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin, and the evidence as to the content of those efforts, have raised serious concerns for me. Those concerns have been augmented by the views expressed by my constituents and other Canadians.”
Philpott is a close ally of Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former justice minister and attorney general at the centre of the SNC-Lavalin scandal. Wilson-Raybould testified before a Commons committee last week that 11 officials in the Prime Minister’s Office and other offices inappropriately pressured her to override a decision to prosecute SNC-Lavalin on bribery charges related to contracts in Libya. (Source: CBC News)
![Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator,Ê Wednesday April 25, 2012 Bev Oda apologizes for swanky hotel stay International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda said sorry Tuesday for charging taxpayers with an expensive hotel stay in London, EnglandÊlast year, but her apology failed to satisfy critics. "The expenses are unacceptable, should never have been charged to taxpayers," Oda said in the House of Commons in response to aÊquestion from interim Liberal leader Bob Rae. "I have repaid the costs associated with [the] changing of hotels and I unreservedlyÊapologize." Oda's travel expenses caused controversy on Monday when it was revealed that she was originally booked to stay at a hotel where she wasÊattending a conference last June, but had her staff rebook her at the swanky Savoy hotel, where her stay cost her about $665 per night. TheÊtotal bill for her three-day stay including the room and room service was $1,995. The room charges included an orange juice that cost $16. Oda also hired a car and driver, at a cost of about $1,000 per day, to bring her to the hotel she was originally supposed to stay at andÊincurred a cancellation charge for refusing to stay at the Grange St. Paul's hotel. After the Canadian Press broke the story on Monday, Oda's office said she would personally cover the tab for the difference in costÊbetween the two hotels, the cancellation fee, and the orange juice. In total, she repaid $1,353.81. "She only did this because she got caught," NDP House leader Nathan Cullen said Tuesday. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bev-oda-apologizes-for-swanky-hotel-stay-1.1169374](https://i2.wp.com/mackaycartoons.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2012-04-25.jpg?resize=300%2C240&ssl=1)
Letter to the Editor, Hamilton Spectator,