In the wake of the SNC-Lavalin scandal, accountability reforms are needed
The Trudeau government deserves to be judged for its conduct in the SNC-Lavalin scandal, but punishing it will not fix the system that allowed it to develop in the first place
The pundits will be chattering about the political impact of federal Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion's bombshell report into the SNC-Lavalin affair until election day. But this is also an opportunity to strengthen government accountability to prevent a repeat of the circumstances that gave rise to the scandal. Dion concluded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau broke conflict-of-interest laws by pressuring former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in a decision not to defer criminal prosecution of the firm.