Star Chamber v. Equity: Politicians Beware

As Canadians head to the election polls in October to cast ballots in the federal election, one of the issues that will likely be on their minds is the recent finding of the Integrity Commissioner that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau improperly sought to influence the decision of his former Attorney General, Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould, in connection with the current criminal proceedings against SNC-Lavalin. In his decision, the Integrity Commissioner found that Prime Minister Trudeau had violated section 9 of the federal Conflict of Interest Act, which prohibits a public office holder from using their position to seek to influence a decision of another person so as to further their own private interests or those of a relative or friend, or, as applied to SNC-Lavalin, to improperly further another person's private interest.