Ottawa, ON – The Honourable Andrew Scheer, the Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and the Leader of the Official Opposition, said he would welcome court proceedings on the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal after receiving a lawsuit threat from Justin Trudeau.
Mr. Scheer received a letter from Justin Trudeau’s lawyer on March 31 threatening a lawsuit over Mr. Scheer’s criticisms of Trudeau’s conduct in the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal.
Mr. Scheer released that letter today and also released a letter his lawyer sent today in response, dismissing Trudeau’s claims and urging him to proceed with the lawsuit so Canadians get finally get the answers they deserve on the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal.
“If Mr. Trudeau believes he has a case against me, I urge him to follow through on his threat immediately. Canadians want this scandal to be investigated in a legal setting where Liberals do not control the proceedings,” Scheer said.
“I welcome the opportunity to examine Mr. Trudeau in pre-trial discovery at the earliest possible date and I look forward to Mr. Trudeau presenting his evidence to Canadians under oath in open court.”
Scheer also called the lawsuit threat an intimidation tactic intended to scare Conservatives away from pressing for answers on the scandal.
“This is what Justin Trudeau does when you stand up to him. He threatens you. He did it to Jody Wilson-Raybould and now he’s doing it to us,” Scheer said. “Like her, we will not back down. We will continue to do our jobs, hold him to account, and get to the bottom of this.”