Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suffered a potentially damaging setback when the minister at the center of a brewing political uproar resigned
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suffered a potentially damaging setback Tuesday when the cabinet minister at the center of a brewing political uproar over alleged interference in a criminal case stepped down.
Jody Wilson-Raybould, who until last month was Canada’s justice minister, said she was tendering her resignation “with a heavy heart,” through a statement released on her Twitter account, without specifying why she stepped down. On Jan. 14, she was moved from the high-profile justice post to the veterans-affairs ministry.
Ms. Wilson-Raybould has declined to comment for nearly a week after allegations emerged that officials in Mr. Trudeau’s office tried last year to persuade her when she was the country’s justice minister to drop a criminal prosecution and cut a plea deal with SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., a Montreal engineering company. She had invoked solicitor-client privilege as a reason why she couldn’t discuss the matter further, given her previous role as the Canadian cabinet’s legal adviser.