Trudeau admits 'erosion of trust' led to minister's resignation as he denies wrongdoing
Two former Canadian ministers have resigned over the government's handling of a corruption case at a major Canadian company.
Thursday 7 March 2019 23:26, UK
Justin Trudeau has defended himself over claims he tried to stop the prosecution of a major Canadian company in a corruption scandal.
Speaking during a nationally televised news conference, the Canadian prime minister said that "an erosion of trust" and a "lack of communication" were to blame for the resignation of his justice minister, who accused him of applying "inappropriate pressure" over the scandal.
Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned from Mr Trudeau's government, claiming he asked her to avoid prosecuting Montreal-based engineering company SNC-Lavalin, which is accused of bribery in Libya.
He denies any wrongdoing and says that prosecuting the company would endanger thousands of jobs and stop it from being able to bid for government contracts.
Refusing to apologise, Mr Trudeau said: "We considered that she (Ms Wilson-Raybould) was still open to hearing different arguments and different approaches on what her decision could be".
He added: "What we see now is that she wasn't prepared to change her mind."
He admitted that things were "experienced differently and I regret that" and that he is "obviously reflecting on lessons learned.
Mr Trudeau's handling of the corruption claims has cost him two of his top ministers and led to calls for him to resign.
Ms Wilson-Raybould was demoted from her role as attorney general in January, after failing to give in to what she called "pressure" from Mr Trudeau.
Justin Trudeau is seeking re-election in October this year, but has dipped in the polls amid the corruption scandal.