Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Ethics Violation

Liberal candidate Lake says PM does not need to apologize after ethics report

Aug 15, 2019 | 11:41 AM

KAMLOOPS — The Liberal candidate for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo in the upcoming federal election says he doesn’t believe Canadians deserve an apology from the prime minister.

In a report from Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion released Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was found to have contravened the Conflict of Interest Act by attempting to influence then-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould in the potential prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

Former Liberal cabinet minister Jane Philpott is among those calling on Trudeau to apologize for his actions.

But Terry Lake says Trudeau was fighting for jobs by advocating for SNC-Lavalin, and that is nothing that should warrant an apology.

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“I don’t think the prime minister is apologetic for fighting for jobs; that’s what we want our prime minister to do,” Lake told CFJC Today.

“If, when I was a cabinet minister, someone said that they were going to cut the funding for [Thompson Rivers University] in half and that would put a lot of people out of work, I would have been fighting just as hard for those jobs as a minister, and I would have talked to any other minister that I could have to change that decision.”

Lake called the section of the Conflict of Interest Act cited by Dion “nebulous,” but said the Liberals will accept the ruling and learn from it.

“The prime minister has accepted the report, taken responsibility and has said that things could have been done differently.”

“I think this is always instructive when you get a ruling like this,” added Lake. “That’s why we have these commissioners. It’s helpful for everyone to understand what the rules of engagement are in politics.”

Dion’s ruling comes as parties are gearing up for a federal election in October. Pundits see Dion’s report as a blow to Trudeau’s re-election prospects, but Lake doesn’t believe it will move the needle for many voters.

“People will make a decision for a party that they believe is in the best interests of Canada. To me, that means taking serious action on climate change, continuing to grow the middle class and, for me personally, to take more action on the opioid overdose crisis,” said Lake. “I think those are things people will think about, and I don’t think what we saw yesterday is going to change too many minds.”