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Kamloops News

ARNOLD: Canadians deserve honest government

Mel Arnold is MP for North Okanagan-Shuswap.
Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
September 01, 2019 - 12:00 PM

OPINION


If the Trudeau government is committed to the rule of law and government that is accountable and transparent, why is it so difficult for Canadians to get the truth?

Canadians expect government to be honest and when the SNC-Lavalin scandal surfaced in February, they had urgent questions that demanded answers. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister’s actions and words have done little to reassure Canadians that he and his office did not seek to undermine our system of justice as his answers have changed many times as the scandal has unfolded.

At the same time, Trudeau’s office and Liberal MPs have thwarted attempts to expose the truth of how he and his proxies attempted to help their corporate friends avoid prosecution for corruption charges. Considering their great efforts to hide the truth from Canadians, they must know that what they did was wrong.

On Aug. 14, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner released a report that found Prime Minister Justin Trudeau broke the law when he tried to influence former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. This was the second time in less than two years that the Commissioner determined that Trudeau had broken the law.

When given the chance to be honest back in February, Trudeau chose not to come clean but rather initiate a cover-up that continues today. As Canadians, we must reject efforts to normalize such unacceptable behaviors because our justice system matters; because the truth matters.

The SNC-Lavalin scandal is far from over and time will tell how much pressure was applied by Trudeau and his office in their effort to influence the SNC-Lavalin prosecution, but why does it have to be this way? Why should Canadians have to count on time and investigations to deliver us the truth when the Prime Minister could release it himself?

As Canadians, these are questions we should be asking ourselves as we wait for the answers and truth being withheld by Trudeau.

— Mel Arnold is the Member of Parliament for the riding of North Okanagan-Shuswap.

News from © iNFOnews, 2019
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