An ethics watchdog has petitioned the courts to pursue a private prosecution over the SNC-Lavalin scandal, alleging the RCMP failed to thoroughly investigate the Prime Minister and his staff.

Deliberations are underway by the Ontario Court of Justice on whether to proceed, reported the Epoch Times.

The application was filed with the court yesterday by Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher, who prefers a non-partisan special prosecutor to investigate further—not the RCMP.

Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher criticizes the RCMP’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

Democracy Watch will be filing an application in the Ontario Court of Justice for court approval to pursue private prosecution of allegations of obstruction of justice and breach… pic.twitter.com/zVjRzHVeaP

— Juno News (@junonewscom) February 19, 2025

The Mounties “never considered prosecuting anyone for breach of trust,” Democracy Watch said in a prior statement. As part of evidence detailing sketchy business practices, executives admitted to paying $47.7 million in bribes to win contracts in Libya.

“The evidence clearly shows the RCMP is a negligently weak lapdog that rolled over for Trudeau by doing a very superficial investigation into his cabinet’s obstruction of the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin,” the group said.

Democracy Watch obtained some 3,600 pages of RCMP records, revealing the investigation was “weak” and “incomplete.”

“The RCMP essentially characterized everything [said by those] who were involved in pressuring the attorney general, from the Prime Minister on down, in a favourable way, while doubting the claims and constantly, essentially tilting the investigation in favour of not prosecuting anyone,” Conacher told reporters yesterday.

He says their Access To Information request shows the RCMP is withholding information it obtained from the interviews of key witnesses, including Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former attorney general.

RCMP ignored pleas to broaden SNC-Lavalin investigation, reviving interference claims

RCMP top brass also did not pursue criminal charges against Trudeau for the alleged coverup, though interference allegations emerged in February of 2019.https://t.co/9ypJVsAMQh

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 19, 2025

Her confidential September 10, 2019 interview was released yesterday following years of secrecy, when Wilson-Raybould unsuccessfully lobbied the RCMP to investigate Trudeau, who pressured and directed others to pressure her over the affair in 2018.

“There are more people that you guys need to talk to than me,” the former justice minister told the RCMP. “There is a lot more information out there that I wasn’t privy to.”

The federal police service only interviewed three other persons of interest, excluding Trudeau.

Wilson-Raybould was shuffled from the justice portfolio to Veteran Affairs in January of 2019. She left cabinet after then-ethics commissioner Mario Dion launched an investigation, and was booted from caucus soon after.

Dion, in a report that year, found Trudeau in contravention of the Conflict of Interest Act, citing “evidence … in which Mr. Trudeau, either directly or through the actions of those under his direction, sought to influence the Attorney General.”

Trudeau apologized in mid-April 2019 for any culpability in the scandal, but wouldn’t retract his efforts to protect Canadian jobs. It went on to cost the Liberal Party 20 seats and a majority government in the 2019 general election.

New details have emerged from the SNC-Lavalin scandal as MPs learned the RCMP never interviewed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before concluding their investigation.https://t.co/L9I7qCG8Se

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 28, 2024

RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme and Sergeant Frédéric Pincince had “limited” access to information concerning the scandal. The Privy Council Office denied them access. 

“We still don’t know to this day all the information that is out there,” Duheme told MPs last February 28.

Trudeau also faced questions on blocking access to cabinet confidences. “The Opposition is digging into the past to try and bring up things that were settled many years ago,” he claimed then.

One Conservative MP suggested the Prime Minister “covered up his obstruction of justice.” Another claimed to not know of any investigation where the person of interest was not interviewed.

Even Justin Trudeau has lost count of his scandals. Watch him fumble as he responds to Pierre Poilievre's question about a criminal investigation into SNC Lavalin before reciting a talking point about an ongoing ArriveCAN app investigation. pic.twitter.com/HEA4TnSvrh

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) October 26, 2023

Interference allegations first emerged against Trudeau’s staff in February of 2019, with 49 meetings and phone calls arranged between the Prime Minister and his aides to save SNC-Lavalin from criminal prosecution.

The Mounties in a 2021 Access To Information memo admitted to receiving political pressure on the matter but considered it harmless, adding there must be more than a technical violation to pursue criminal charges. 

Conacher accused the police service of “changing the standard” for determining if obstruction of justice occurred. He says they used an “illegal and incorrect legal standard” to make that assessment. SNC-Lavalin ultimately benefited from a deferred prosecution agreement in late-2019, paying more than $280 million in fines to avoid criminal prosecution.

If the request for private prosecution is approved, the Attorney General of Ontario may take over the prosecution. Epoch Times attempted to reach the RCMP for comment but did not hear back at the time of writing.

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