Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expelled Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from the Liberal caucus, saying that trust with the two former cabinet ministers has been irreparably broken. Trudeau delivered the news to the national Liberal caucus in Ottawa Tuesday night to loud applause. He said the two could not stay on because they could not express confidence in the caucus. “The trust that previously existed between these two individuals and our team has been broken, whether it’s taping conversations without consent, or repeatedly expressing a lack of confidence in our government or me personally as leader,” he said.
Trudeau said it’s wrong for any politician to secretly record a conversation, but called it “unconscionable” that an attorney general would tape a conversation with the country’s top civil servant — a reference to Wilson-Raybould’s release last week of a recording of a phone conversation she had with Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick in December. Under Canadian law, it is legal for a party to a phone call to record the conversation without disclosing that it is being done.