Sunday, April 7, 2019

Culture of corruption





Political interference in the justice system erodes trust in the "rule of law" and the sacrosanct independence of the judiciary

SNC Lavellin lobbies politicians hard (short of outright bribery?)to avoid prosecution for bribery and fraud

PM accused of pressuring Attorney General to invoke "Deferred Prosecution Law" to exempt SNC Lavellin from being prosecuted....and to allow this powerful corporation to buy their way out (to plea bargain their way out) by paying a fine.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-revenue-kpmg-secret-amnesty-1.3479594 /corruption

such political meddling undermines the independence of the judiciary wch is crucial to sustainimg public trust in the "rule of law" and the justice system.

Apparently doing the right thing and having high moral standards disqualifies one from being a member of the Liberal party. If you have these traits, the Liberals don't want you!
It seems that a willingness to divest oneself of one's moral principles in the interest of gaining/retaining political power is a prerequisite to being a good Liberal.

At a time when it it is becoming increasingly more difficult not to feel cynical about poiticians these two MPs have proven themselves to be of noble character and worthy of respect.
Not since Jack Layton has Ottawa given rise to such truly honourable politicians who refuse to compromise their integrity for political expedience .
Leaders with a strong moral compass are precisely the kind of leaders I would want to lead my country!
So much for Liberal pretensions to accountability, transparency,and "doing politics differently"!
The "tool" referred to by Wernick was a new law(recently snuck into an omnibus bill with the intention of being applied in the SNC Lavallen case )called "the deferred prosecution agreement" to exempt corporate criminals from prosecution. Such a law in effect places corporations above the law.
Politicians should not be allowed to lobby on behalf of a corporation to exempt them from prosecution.
Not only should corporations that lie, cheat,and break the law in their pursuit of profit be fined ,but their executive officers should be imprisoned! Corporations must not be allowed to engage in criminal behavior with impunity no matter how big they are!
If powerful corporations are exempted from! punishment for criminal behavior ...this makes a mockery of justice. To allow them such selective and preferential treatment would undermine trust in the justice system and the rule of law.
To be authentic the rule of law must be applied with
unwavering consistency and impartiality.

It will be interesting to see whether the new AG appointed by Trudeau will rreverse Jody Wilson-Rabauld's decision to proceed with criminal charges against SNC Lavellen or whether he will toe  the line a nd kowtow to the PM's demand that SNC Lavellen be given a free pass/amnesty.


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 if you've ever wondered why our lady of justice is depicted wearing a blindfold  then here is your opportunity to know.
The statue of our lady of justice or Lady Justice is always seen wearing a blindfold, and this has been going on for several centuries now. The blindfold covering the eyes of lady justice represents objectivity. This means that justice is objective. When you are blind, you cannot see a person’s identity, beauty, wealth, power, race, etc. And this is how justice is supposed to be; it should be blind.
The blindfold that the lady of justice wears on her eyes represents the fact that justice is blind. And as a result of that justice is delivered in an objective and an impartial manner.


41 comments:

  1. Legal opinion on remediation agreement provisions pushed through along the budgetL


    https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/ottawa-officials-keep-pushing-myths-about-remediation-agreements-amid-the-snc-lavalin-scandal?video_autoplay=true

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Interesting background to Liberal party mess in process, at present

      https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2019/02/22/SNC-Lavalin-Criminal-Record-Corruption/


      Delete
    2. Immunity from prosecution law :
      This "law" is illegal.
      To allow a rich corporation to avoid prosecution by agreeing to a financial settlement(paying a fine)would essentially be letting them buy their way out of facing the consequences of criminal behaviour. This would allow corporations to act irresponsibly and to simply add the fine to the "cost of doing business"... just as they bribe government officials up front to obtain contracts.

      Such a law would make a mockery of the rule of law.

      Delete
    3. the pri.e minister's office was aggresively lobbied by SNC Lavalin
      to bring a deferred prosecution agreement into law. for their benefit.
      The Liberals acceded to this request and quietly slipped the DPA into page 220 of tne budgrt bill. This from a government that had railed against omnibus bills!!

      Delete
  2. I bribed the Lybians by Neil Macdonald:

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/libya-snc-1.5014939?fbclid=IwAR1oXNixs5J2kq093OrAUQjHUmXtp9NUnU7FIqFRkMLBAOEZHsUVOJwyLzo

    ReplyDelete

  3. Could this be why they wanted to go easy on SNC Lavallin?

    Jacques Bougie. who JUST happens to not only sit on the Board of SNC-Lavalin, also sits on the Board for The Trudeau Foundation.



    It also turns out that he is a Director at McCain Foods-Bill Morneau’s (Minister of Finance) wife’s family business.


    ReplyDelete
  4. Why has the mainstream mediu not reported this flagrant con flict of interest?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The PM's suggesfion that the government should look the other way and disregard (not prosecute)criminal activity if a corporation provides jobs is equivalent to saying that criminal activity is acceptible if it provides jobs (and more especially if it buys votes for himself and his party!)!!

      Delete


  5. Trudeau's "saving jobs" rationale just blew up!!



    SNC Lavalin chief says they never said jobs would be lost nor that they would move out of Canada!!



    https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1640569



    SNC-Lavalin never mentioned 9000 potential job losses, CEO says



    SNC-Lavalin never claimed jobs were at risk, CEO Neil Bruce says

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-snc-lavalin-ceo...

    SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. says it did not cite job losses as a reason to be granted a settlement in its criminal corruption trial and did not threaten to move its head office out of Canada …







    That leaves only one motive for Trudeau's insistence that SNC Lavallin be let off easy:

    ...his chances of being re-elected were at stake if Quebec voters withdrew their support!!



    So it was about jobs alright--his job!!!



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. those who donate to political campaigns do so with the expectation that they will eventually receive a generous return on their investment.
      How much did the Liberals receive from SNC Lavellin?!

      Delete

    2. Former CEO of SNC-Lavalin is listed as a donor to the Liberal Party and the Trudeau Foundation :



      https://www.thepostmillennial.com/former-ceo-of-snc-lavalin-is-listed-as-a-donor-to-the-liberal-party-trudeau-foundation/

      Delete
  6. Trudeau's behaviour( in sacrificing two of his most capable, respected ,and high-performng Ministers, and two most trusted advisers--Butts and Wer nick) would make sense if he felt deeply beholden to SNC Lavallen for a significant amount of political campaign funding.
    How much has this corporation contributed to the Liberal party with an expectation of receiving future benefit (How is this not bribery for future favours!?)?
    It is ironic that Trudeau's respons e to the SNC Lavallen affair (i.e. by championing SNC Lavallen's interests against the rule of law) has likely done more damage to the chances of Liberal incumbents being re-elected than if he'd allowed SNC Lavallen to be prosecuted for their crimes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. now we know: Trudeau maligned two female ministers whose integrity was unreproachable when he was the one doing the lying!

      In light of the ethics commissioner's. report he most certainly owes these

      honest women (as well as all the people of Canada) an apology

      Delete
  7. "Choosing to remain silent while hatred,(er corruption) flourishes is complicity in its most cowardly form". --Justin Trudeau

    ReplyDelete
  8. No laws were violated.

    ReplyDelete
  9. No laws were broken only because Jodie Wilson Raubold opposed Justin Trudeau's efforts to impose his will on the justice system and refused to grant SNC levalen the "exemption from prosecution" that they lobbied for!

    Jodie Wilson Raubold's heroic action personifies the impartial spirit of Lady Justice!

    ReplyDelete
  10. "There can be a cost to acting on one’s principles,
    but there is a bigger cost to abandoning them"
    --Jane Philpott

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1434026346762533&id=100004655446412

      "We need leaders who are not !in love with money,but with justice...."
      --Martjin Luther King

      Delete
  11. The incestuous relationship between corporations and politicians is rarely exposed to the public.
    But occasionally such events do reach scandalous levels of corruption such as Mike Duffy's and Pamela Whallen's use of taxpayers money for their own personal luxuries...or the taking of bribes from lobbyists as former PM Brian Mulroney and the board of directors of Air Canada did to the tune of $20. million from Karl Hand Schrider in the Airbus scandal.
    There are 3300 registered lobbyists in Ottowa all trying to influence/bribe politicians as they vie for government contracts and strive to shape government policies to advance their own interests in exchange for political support.
    Being "registered" all this corporate lobbying/bribery is deemed to be legitimate.
    What did the PMO owe SNC Lavelin?
    This we have not been told!

    #rotten-to-the-core
    is supposed to give this

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Corporate welfare:

      Government subsidies for business are greater than Canada's entire defence budget | CBCRadio

      https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-for-may-26-2019-1.5146999/government-subsidies-for-business-are-greater-than-canada-s-entire-defence-budget-1.5148266?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar

      Delete
  12. Exchange between the ruling party and the official opposition in the House of Commons:
    Conservatives asked, "Will the prime minister please tell Canadians why he illegally interfered to try to give a signed navy ship reconstruction contract to a Liberal-friendly contractor in Atlantic Canada,a change that would cost the Canadian taxpayer an additional $89. million?"

    the response: "Err,umm,ah,,umm,the leader of the opposition knows that Canadians want their government to..err,umm,deal with the real issues of diversification,gender matters ,and climate change.That is what we are doing and that is what really matters."

    #power corrupts

    ReplyDelete
  13. Politicians are so completely immersed in this culture that it is inconceivable for them to see how politics could be done in any other way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ethics Commisioner says Trudeau breached conflict of interest rules in SNC Lavelin affair!


      https://www.cp24.com/news/trudeau-broke-conflict-of-interest-rules-in-snc-lavalin-affair-ethics-commissioner-1.4549339

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49349884

      Delete
    2. as someone who professes to be a champion of tbe rule of law,
      Justin shou!ld have allowed tbe system of justice to work independently
      without political influence or interferance!

      political intervention in the operation of the justice system undermines public trust in the justice system.

      Delete
    3. Sheer wants RCMP to investigate Trudeau's actions for "breach of justice"!
      https://ca.news.yahoo.com/scheer-repeats-call-rcmp-investigate-152724771.html

      Delete
    4. the machinery of government is susceptible to manipulation by transnational. corporations:

      https://globalnews.ca/video/5794247/prime-minister-is-guilty-for-an-offence-where-resignation-is-appropriate-says-may





      Delete
  14. Court rules SNC-Lavalin must stand trial on bribery, …

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/snc-lavalin-trial-corruption-bribery-1.5153429

    ReplyDelete
  15. It isn,'t just powerful corporations that get prefereential treatment by tne "justice" system...the rich also qualify:
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-case-why-alex-acosta-is-public-enemy-no-2/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the government system and the justice system is corrupt and needs changing.
      Politics definetely needs to be done diifferently...and justice needs to be administered with complete impartiallity (without political influence or
      interferenc)!

      Delete
  16. Prime Minister is guilty for an offence where resignation is appropriate: Elizabeth May https://globalnews.ca/video/5794247/prime-minister-is-guilty-for-an-offence-where-resignation-is-appropriate-says-may

    ReplyDelete
  17. Green Party leader Elizabeth May said on
    Aug. 21 during an emergency ethics committee meeting that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is guilty of an offence so grave that resignation is an appropriate response. She said this issue around the SNC-Lavalin affair is a systemic problem.



    https://globalnews.ca/video/5794247/prime-minister-is-guilty-for-an-offence-where-resignation-is-appropriate-says-may/



    Trudeau's ethics breach demonstrates need to get corporate influence out of government


    OTTAWA — Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) is calling for a wider investigation into the SNC-Lavalin affair following the release of Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion's report on Wednesday. The report found Prime Minister Justin Trudeau guilty of violating Canada's Conflict of Interest Act.

    "It is not for me to demand Mr. Trudeau's resignation," said Ms. May. "That is a matter for the PM to decide, and his decision will tell us far more about him than any denunciation from me or anyone else would. I believe it is a resignation offence, but I cannot speak for him. All the normal checks and balances should come into play here, including an RCMP investigation which I would not prejudge. But the moral issue of what to do belongs to Justin Trudeau and no one else. I certainly think he should apologise immediately to Jody Wilson-Raybould, to Jane Philpott and to the people of Canada."

    But Ms. May emphasized this issue does not end with the prime minister. "We need a more extensive inquiry, because the commissioner's report does not cover the wide range of troubling issues unearthed by the SNC-Lavalin scandal – issues like the extent of corporate influence on our democracy, the lack of ethics and transparency in government and how staff in the Prime Minister's Office could interfere so profoundly with the functioning of an independent ministry."

    ReplyDelete

  18. the machinery of government is susceptible to manipulation by transnational. corporations:

    https://globalnews.ca/video/5794247/prime-minister-is-guilty-for-an-offence-where-resignation-is-appropriate-says-may

    ReplyDelete
  19. looks like its the tail that wags the dog
    😣!😣

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yes, essentially the government is a pawn of
    Big Business. The puppet strings are pulled behind the scenes--out of public sight!
    Legislation is passed to further the interests of Big Business.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doing politics differently:

      we have to create a separation between Big Business and government...just as we have separated church and state.
      Corporations must not be allowed to fund political candidates and lobby
      governments to influence policy in their favor.

      Delete
    2. public policy should not be dictated or even influenced by profit-driven private corporations

      Delete
    3. plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income.

      Delete
  21. Ms. May is correct in stating that this problem is not confined to Liberals...but is systemic(climate of corruption)!
    On the rare occ asion that such an incident surfaces and is exposed to public awareness, it is but the tip of the iceberg!
    The full extent of corporate lobbying and corporate influence on government is vastly underappreciated!

    ReplyDelete
  22. SNC buys its way out of conviction for fraud,bribery and coruption
    Attorney General agrees to out of court settlement.
    SNC Lavallen plea bargains its way out of legal trouble with $280. million "fine"


    https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-snc-lavalin-court-idUKKBN1YM2CN

    ReplyDelete

  23. no deferred/avoided prosecution?


    So SNC Lavallen was able to "cut a deal" with government prosecuters after all!
    $280. million? Its just the cost of doing business!


    SNC Lavallen allowed to plead guilty to reduced charge of "fraud" in exchange for $280. million

    Is our justice system working as it should, or has justice been avoided?


    Message sent:SNC Lavallen you can carry on with business as usual as long as you are willing to share $280. million of that immorally-acquired profit with the government. This establishes a precedent for escaping conviction, and a survival strategy for corporations facing fraud and other criminal charges.

    Question remains: are corporations allowed to behave immorally with impunity in pursuit of profit?

    ReplyDelete

  24. Where are the politicians that hold corporations accountable for their actions when they do harm in their pursuit of profit
    jane philpott and jody wilson raybold are the only politicians with enough moral integrity to hold corporations accountable
    Let's call lobbying by it's actual name, bribery!!

    ReplyDelete