Justin Trudeau is no Scout over political interference
- The way the Canadian PM’s office has dealt with a firm accused of paying bribes to officials in Libya sheds light on its handling of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou
A multinational giant that is something of a national champion and a source of nationalist pride is accused of committing shenanigans in a Middle Eastern country. Canadian judicial officers have to pounce. But the political class in Ottawa is divided over how to deal with the case. Given its importance, some have argued, shouldn’t we take it easy on the company?
Others say the law must not be interfered with and judicial independence must be maintained. Ultimately, the Prime Minister’s Office becomes directly involved, at great costs to Justin Trudeau.
No, I am not talking about Huawei Technologies and the detention of its chief financial officer Sabrina Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the United States for possible extradition over allegations of bank fraud and sanction-busting for Iran.
The company in question is SNC-Lavalin, a Montreal-based engineering-construction giant that has been accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to government officials in Libya under slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi between 2001 and 2011 to secure public contracts.
But just as Huawei has become Trudeau’s biggest diplomatic crisis to date, SNC-Lavalin is now his worst domestic problem.
Moreover, beyond the parallels, the way Trudeau’s office has dealt with SNC-Lavalin also sheds light on its subsequent handling of Meng’s detention.