Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference in Ottawa to respond to allegations his office pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould in the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Was former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould’s decision-making on SNC-Lavalin subjected to inappropriate interference? Legal scholar Laverne Jacobs considers this question writes in an article for the Conversation, which publishes news and views from the academic and research community.
“Warding off political interference is important across the spectrum of administrative actors,” writes Dr. Jacobs, associate dean for research and graduate studies in the UWindsor Faculty of Law. “Decisions should be made in a manner that doesn’t place any weight on extraneous, irrelevant factors.”
She notes that the case also raises questions about respecting the rule of law.
“Even if the law has political dimensions, when it comes to its interpretation and application, the public should have confidence that the decision-maker will be working from their own moral conscience and understanding of the applicable law,” Jacobs writes.