The vice-president of a federal Liberal riding association has quit in support of Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott after the two were ousted from caucus as fallout continues in the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Louis De Jaeger of the Chilliwack-Hope riding announced his decision on social media on Wednesday morning, saying it was “with great disappointment” that he learned the two former cabinet ministers were ejected by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the scandal.
READ MORE: Trudeau says Wilson-Raybould, Philpott no longer Liberal caucus members
He said after speaking to people in the community over the last several weeks, he has found his values, and theirs, “do not align” with the current direction of the prime minister and those within his office.
“One of the most valuable assets we have in life is to be trustworthy,” De Jaeger said. “It is this erosion of trust that the Prime Minister mentions when speaking of blame for the current SNC fiasco… the breakdown of the relationships between himself, the PMO, the former Attorney General and the former Treasury Board President.”
The Liberals have taken beating after beating following allegations that Wilson-Raybould was improperly pressured by the Prime Minister’s Office to intervene in the criminal prosecution of Montreal-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin – the latest development being a key phone conversation Wilson-Raybould secretly recorded between her and former Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick.
De Jaeger said he also cancelled his financial contributions to the party, and will be withdrawing his bid to run as the Liberal candidate in the upcoming federal election.
He first ran for the Liberals in 2015.
– with a file from The Canadian Press
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