When Justin
Trudeau was elected in 2015, he promised, ‘sunny ways’ along with sweeping
reform and government transparency. Trudeau was wildly popular and instituted
the first gender balanced cabinet in Canadian history. He brought climate
change, electoral reform, LGBTQ+ rights, Indigenous reconciliation, and women’s
reproductive rights to the forefront of the Canadian political discussion.
In
spite of promised change, the first Trudeau term was wracked with scandal and
corruption. Most notably was the scandal surrounding the multi-billion dollar
engineering corporation, SNC-Lavalin. SNC-Lavalin was facing criminal
prosecution for bribery charges relating to their business dealings in Libya in
2009. If convicted, SNC-Lavalin would be permanent barred from bidding on any
Canadian government contracts. SNC-Lavalin is based just outside Trudeau’s home
riding of Papineau in Montreal, and there was strong evidence that SNC-Lavalin
would move its headquarters from Canada, taking jobs with it, if it was
convicted of criminal charges. The Attorney General, who also serves as the
Minister of Justice, is on occasion able to grant a corporation a Deferred
Prosecution Agreement (DPA). A DPA allows corporations to avoid criminal
prosecution by paying a large fine, and importantly, a DPA allows corporations
to continue to bid on government contracts. A DPA can only be granted by the
Attorney General if the corporation has taken significant steps to rectify
their criminal behavior.
Trudeau
and his chief aides were accused, and later found guilty of pressuring the
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould into giving
SNC-Lavalin a DPA. Wilson-Rayould was one of Canada’s first female Justice
Ministers, and the first Indigenous Justice Minister. When Wilson-Raybould
confronted Trudeau about his unethical pressure, he shuffled her out of her
cabinet position, and when she spoke out publicly against Trudeau, she was
kicked out of the Liberal caucus. Jane Philpott, the Minister of Health, also
spoke out publicly against Trudeau’s corruption, and she was subsequently also
put on the Liberal backbench and later removed from the Liberal caucus.
Investigations and committee hearings were blocked by Liberal majorities;
however, a parliamentary ethics commissioner, found Justin Trudeau guilty of
corruption and ethics violations.
Wilson-Raybould
was rightfully lauded as a Canadian hero, she gave up one of the most powerful
positions in government to stand against government corruption. Opposition
parties, who only months ago were launching attacks from across the bench at
Wilson-Raybould, put forward motions to wave cabinet confidence to allow
Wilson-Raybould to fully testify to the SNC-Lavalin affair. Despite strong
offers to cross the floor to other political parties, Wilson-Raybould opted to
run as an Independent in the 2019 Canadian Election.
Funk,
Hinojosa, and Piscopo empirically explore the relationship between parties
tendencies to nominate more women as the perception of government corruption increases. They argue
that parties use this tactic because women are stereotypically seen as more
honest and trusting. This same principle can be used to explain
Wilson-Raybould’s reelection as an independent.
To
understand Wilson-Raybould’s feat, it’s useful to understand the obstacles
placed on independent candidates and Members of Parliament. First, independents
are unable to receive any monetary funds from a central party. For
Wilson-Raybould, she had less than 9 months to raise enough money to compete in
an election. Second, the nature of the Canadian House of Commons renders
independents essentially useless. Independents cannot serve on committees, are
limited in their ability to ask questions during Question Period, are limited in
their ability to propose motions in the House and propose legislation, and rise
in legislative debates. Third, Wilson-Raybould’s riding is a progressive
stronghold and there were five viable and high-profile candidates running
against her with the full financial backings of major political parties.
In
the 2019 election, with Trudeau’s corruption on the forefront of voter’s minds,
it’s logical based on the claims of Funk, Hinojosa, and Piscopo, that
Wilson-Raybould would be re-elected. The female stereotype of being trustworthy
and honest helped propel Wilson-Raybould to her re-election. In the fight for equality
and for equal representation, women should not be afraid to use public
perceptions to their advantage to gain equal rights and equal representation in
government.
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