The Conservative MP for Richmond Centre, Alice Wong, said she’s appalled at how Jody Wilson-Raybould has been treated and at the Liberal government for pressuring the former attorney-general to change her mind about a criminal prosecution.
Wong stepped out of the emergency debate on Thursday evening to talk with the Richmond News, saying that she was “appalled” at what had happened and called it a “constitutional crisis.”
Wong said she watched as Wilson-Raybould gave her testimony on Wednesday as she outlined the details from her notes.
“I really admire the courage of Jody,” Wong said, adding that the two of them often talk as they are flying back to B.C. and at community events.
“She is one of the ministers I really respect, although I don’t agree with legislation her government presents,” Wong said. “She stood tall (…) to uphold the law.”
Wilson-Raybould gave explosive testimony on Wednesday to the justice committee of the House of Commons about how she had been pressured by the prime minister’s office and staff people close to the prime minister to reverse her decision, as attorney-general, to defer a prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a large engineering company based in Quebec.
SNC-Lavalin has bid on the Patullo Bridge rebuild project and been a key player in several SkyTrain projects.
Wong said comments made by Jati Sidhu, Liberal MP from Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, showed how the government is taking this issue “very casually.”
Wong said this is a “shame” for Canada as everyone is watching the scandal unfold.
“I think this is very irresponsible of the government – there is so much anger,” she said.
The Liberal member of Parliament for Richmond East-Steveston, Joe Peschisolido, didn’t return repeated inquiries for comment from the Richmond News.
