Jody Wilson-Raybould may have offered an alternative to politics as usual

Former attorney general and justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould's allegations of political interference during her nearly four-hour testimony on Wednesday put pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said Maclean's columnist Anne Kingston.

Wilson-Raybould described in detail a "consistent and sustained effort" by senior officials in the PMO, including Trudeau himself, to interfere in a criminal prosecution case against Montreal-based engineering firm, SNC-Lavalin. 

She outlined 10 phone calls and 10 meetings with senior government members about SNC-Lavalin. In one instance, Wilson-Raybould recalled asking the prime minister directly if he was asking her to interfere with the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

Her testimony sent shock waves across the country. Opposition leader Andrew Scheer called for a police investigation and demanded that Justin Trudeau resign, while NDP leader Jagmeet Singh demanded a public inquiry over the PMO's handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Trudeau defended his office's actions, and disagreed with his former justice minister's characterization of the events.

Maclean's columnist Anne Kingston said that Wilson-Raybould's testimony upended the status quo in Ottawa. She spoke with Day 6 host Brent Bambury. Here's part of that conversation.

What struck you most about Jody Wilson-Raybould's testimony? 

I thought it was jaw-dropping and what struck me was how brilliantly constructed it was. It was almost masterful in the ground it covered.

And as you said, it was brutal in its forensic detailing of what went on. 

I think she showed herself as a remarkably judicious and formidable woman. She had the receipts.- Anne Kingston, Maclean's Magazine columnist

So before Wednesday, how do you think Canadians viewed Jody Wilson-Raybould? 

She was the woman who was basically saying no comment. She was at the middle of a political firestorm but she was not allowed to speak for various reasons legally. I don't think people had a strong fix on her. 

She was a marquee cabinet minister as justice minister and attorney general. But at the same time she wasn't up front and center the way others were. There was a lot of legislation she passed, but she was pretty much in the background I think.

How did that image change since Wednesday?

Since she sat before the justice committee, I think her testimony was explosive.

I think she showed herself as a remarkably judicious, formidable woman. She had the receipts. She completely took down the other accounts that had gone on the government's wavering accounts of what happened. 

I think that she was credible. I think that she also pointed to very serious moral issues within the government in terms of pressure, in terms of trying to upend judicial process, prosecutorial independence.

The imprint is really difficult to measure just days after — but it's huge.

No one knows what's going to happen next. But she emerges as a central and powerful figure in a government in which her own future is uncertain. So what are her options now? What does she do with this power that she has? 

Essentially she had far more power when she was in cabinet. She has now resigned from cabinet; she has relinquished that power. She has power as an elected representative, for sure, and she certainly made it clear that she had no desire to step down from that. 

A lot of people have been asking why don't you just quit caucus — not just cabinet — quit caucus altogether if you don't have confidence in the prime minister.

I think her power will be most greatly galvanized by doing absolutely nothing and allowing events to unfold around her. 

She has said her piece for the time being, there's nothing to be gained at this stage, I think, but to wait and the pressure is now on the government. It is on the prime minister and we'll see how that all unravels.

But does she not become an emblem for a certain kind of ethical purity that might appeal to certain idealistic voters?

Yes, I think, absolutely.

I think that she's taken on, certainly, heroic stature among some people ... The idea of politics, as usual, and cynicism toward that was actually what got the Liberal government into a majority position in 2015. The idea that this would be a new, transparent, 'woke' kind of government.

In terms of Jody Wilson-Raybould, she represents somebody who's principled and willing to speak to power. 

And that was certainly loud and clear in her testimony on Wednesday.

So this idea that yes she represents a new way of doing things is hugely attractive. But we also have to be careful because we don't have the full story yet.

She came into federal politics with all of these ideals and values, and she says those values have been offended by what happened to her when she was minister. So, do you think someone who had been in Ottawa for a long time would say that that Jody Wilson-Reybould is being naive about how things work in politics?

Probably, but that is what is exactly refreshing about her for so many people. She did enter politics not as a career — she hasn't been a career politician.

She's entered politics because she had an agenda in terms of Indigenous rights, in terms of reconciliation and so forth. And what was very interesting on Wednesday was the fact that she highlighted her respect for the law stemming from the systemic injustices that she experienced as an Indigenous woman.

This is, I think, really significant and a powerful message that she's communicating that what is going on here is a complete corruption of the proper judicial process which is the bedrock of our democracy.

We're not simply talking about jobs which is what the conversation is veering towards. What she is talking about is a respect for the rule of law. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To hear the full interview with Anne Kingston, download our podcast or click the 'Listen' button at the top of this page.