Good morning,
With a federal election just eight months away, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has lost one of his closest advisers. Gerald Butts, the Prime Minister’s principal secretary and a man who has been friends with Mr. Trudeau since university, resigned yesterday. Mr. Butts was the son of a coal miner and the public issue that animated him most was combatting climate change and cleaning up the environment. He was a senior policy architect of Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty’s office which, among other things, phased out coal-fired electricity plants in the province. He has been one of the driving forces behind the federal Liberals since Mr. Trudeau became leader in 2013 and, it is fair to say, had more influence on the government than any cabinet minister. Katie Telford, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff and his other most influential aide, remains in her post.
Mr. Butts resigned because of the continuing fallout of a Globe and Mail investigation two weeks ago that reported the Prime Minister’s Office put undue pressure on then-minister of justice Jody Wilson-Raybould to cut a deal with construction giant SNC-Lavalin, which would allow the company to avoid criminal prosecution. (More details here.) Ms. Wilson-Raybould herself resigned last week.
All this will be well discussed on Parliament Hill today. Mr. Trudeau’s cabinet meets this morning behind closed doors. Also behind closed doors this afternoon is the justice committee, who will discuss in camera whether to call more witnesses to testify about the whole affair – witnesses such as, perhaps, Mr. Butts or Ms. Wilson-Raybould, neither of whom the committee has yet asked to testify.
As for what talks will be in the open, the NDP has brought forward an opposition day motion that calls on the government to launch a public inquiry “in order to provide Canadians with the transparency and accountability promised by the Liberals in the 2015 election campaign.” (And, of course, there’s Question Period as usual at 2:15 pm ET.)
Mr. Butts’ resignation has fueled no shortage of opinion in the last 24 hours. Here’s a taste:
John Ibbitson: “In the space of less than two weeks, the government has gone from more or less where it wanted to be in an election year to deep crisis. And that crisis will get worse.”
Adam Radwanski: “The shock of how abruptly Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Butts have professionally split will be shared even by casual political observers, because there has been no adviser in this country’s history more tied to the identity of a prime minister. They have been close personal friends since their university days a quarter-century ago. Mr. Butts has effectively been by Mr. Trudeau’s side since the latter entered politics, and he has not been shy about taking on a public profile unusual for anyone who does not himself hold office.”
Lori Turnbull: “Mr. Butts seemed to offer his resignation as a sacrifice. It appears to be a peace offering to voters: if I give myself, can we forget this ever happened?”
Konrad Yakabuski: “And many members of the Liberal caucus will cheer his departure. Mr. Butts was seen by many as too controlling. His continual presence at Mr. Trudeau’s side, even at caucus meetings, became a source of tension. Instead of enjoying free access to their own Leader, some Liberals felt ignored or condescended to by the PMO.”
And, while Conservatives might be cheering the turmoil in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Butts’ exit inspired some words from former senior Conservative staffers.
Andrew MacDougall, a former director of communications to Stephen Harper, reflected in Maclean’s: “When ace reporter Bob Fife rings you at 9:30 in the morning to get a comment for an exclusive in the next day’s paper it’s time to cancel your plans. Believe me, I know from experience. It means something big— something painful—is in the offing.”
Jenni Byrne, who played a similar role in Mr. Harper’s office, wrote on Twitter: “Playing at the highest level in politics isn’t always easy. Partisanship and politics aside @gmbutts has had tremendous success at numerous levels. I’m happy to call him a friend and wish him & his family good luck in whatever comes next.”
And Alykhan Velshi, another former senior aide to Mr. Harper who was diametrically opposed to Mr. Butts on environment issues, also wrote on Twitter: “Since politics necessarily entails the pursuit of power, it often thrusts good people into grey areas. Politics has its ups & downs, but when the Liberals are up, we want them being advised by good people who are willing to accept that burden; I’m thankful for @gmbutts‘s service”
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
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The federal government is not living up to its legal obligations to consult Indigenous groups when it comes to protect species at risk, a group of researchers says.
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And in the U.S., Bernie Sanders is running for president, again.
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Chris Hannay