SNC faces real world accountability while the PM skates around conflict of interest breaches

Q: What did we learn this week?
A: There is a time and a place for unethical, if not, illegal behaviour.
 
It’s been a week since Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion released his report in Ottawa making it abundantly clear that the Prime Minister broke the law.

Commissioner Dion determined “Mr. Trudeau used his position of authority over Ms. Wilson-Raybould (former Attorney General) to seek to influence, both directly and indirectly, her decision on whether she should overrule the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision not to invite SNC-Lavalin to enter into negotiations towards a remediation agreement. Therefore, I find that Mr. Trudeau contravened section 9 of the (Conflict of Interest) Act.”
 
Justin Trudeau accepted the report but disagreed with the findings. That’s like the guy in the prisoner’s box telling the jury “I hear ya but I can’t accept your verdict.”
 
A week later, the pollsters are telling us Canadians aren’t moved by this latest development in the SNC scandal. Our reaction is apparently “baked in” to the latest survey results that suggest the Ethics Commissioner’s findings had little or no effect on the popular support for the federal Liberals.
 
Meanwhile, the Liberal-led Ethics Committee in Ottawa says we’ve heard enough. No need for the Commissioner to expand upon his report at an open committee hearing.
 
And then there is a prevailing media narrative that suggests there is no need to pursue the matter. We should cool out jets and wait for the outcome of the federal election on October 21st.
 
Seriously?

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I know it’s naïve to say “politics aside”, because this entire scandal is political, but what if this had happened a year earlier? How about 2 years earlier? Would we be saying, “Wait for election time. That’s when you can hold them to account.”

Elections aren’t supposed to be a punishment tool. They’re supposed to be the height of our democratic expression. And that democratic expression doesn’t end when I walk out of the polling booth. That X on the ballot is supposed to fuel our democracy between elections. That doesn’t mean the government of the day gets to break the law unscathed simply because it enjoys a majority of seats in the legislature.
 
So, what we’ve learned this week is there is a time and place when it’s acceptable to act unethically, to break the law without any accountability. And you’re okay with that.
 
As a footnote, it’s worth noting that for all of the PM’s effort to “save” SNC, this scandal has cost the company’s President and CEO his job, SNC’s stock has plunged and the company’s credit rating has been downgraded to junk status. That’s real-world accountability. No waiting.