Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau under fire (posted February 10, 2019):
As of this posting, several issues plague Trudeau now, among the top stories:
-the ongoing contentious issue of pipeline development (and a recent story suggesting the government paid more than a billion too much for the Trans Mountain Pipeline);
-the arrest of Huawei chief executive financial officer Meng Wanzhou, Chinese tech giant’s chief financial officer (and daughter of the tech founder) on Dec. 1, 2018 at the Vancouver airport on a provisional warrant seeking her extradition to the U.S. on fraud charges connected to the violation of sanctions against Iran. The plight of 3 Canadians facing “arbitrary” justice in China, widely seen as a retaliation for the arrest of Meng Wanzhou. (Amid a firestorm of criticism from Beijing, Trudeau’s government has tried to avoid discussing what political factors may come into play in the case. Trudeau fired John McCallum as Chinese ambassador for his public speculations about the case.)
Justin Trudeau (Data: Dec 25, 1971: 12:31 pm: Ottawa, Ontario):
Inner Wheel: Natal Chart; Mid Wheel: Progressions; Outer Wheel: Transits for 7 2019 Transits to note:
Transiting 1st house: (Outer Wheel) Mars: 25:26 Aries; Uranus: 29:02 Aries conjunct progressed Mars: 00:10 Taurus (mid wheel);
Transiting 12th house: (Outer Wheel) Chiron: 29:27 Pisces conjunct progressed Venus: 00:31 Aries (mid wheel) and natal Mars: 29:20 Pisces (inner wheel)
Transiting 11th house: (Outer Wheel) Sun in Aquarius recently over progressed Sun and Mercury in Aquarius (mid wheel)
Transiting 10th house: (outer wheel) South node in Capricorn 26:38) & North node in Cancer (4th house) square transiting Mars in Aries in the first house & Uranus in Aries (in effect since the nodal shift into Cancer/Capricorn, November 6, 2018. Not Also that Trudeau’s natal nodes: south node 5:40 Leo in the 4th house/north node 5:40 Aquarius in the 10th house have been activated over the past 18 months while the transiting nodes and eclipses triggered the Leo/Aquarius polarity.)
Transiting 10th house: Pluto in Capricorn, Saturn in Capricorn – significant and on going challenges to his authority and reputation
SNC-Lavalin Affair:
Allegations that the prime minister or his aides pressure the (then) Attorney General/Minister of Justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould to help Quebec corporate giant SNC-Lavalin avoid a criminal prosecution. Although denied on by both parties, Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle (Jan 14, 2019) has been widely viewed as a demotion for Jody Wilson-Raybould from attorney general to minister of veteran affairs. (Wilson-Raybould, has been widely praised for the legal handling of several major files since she was first named Minister of Justice in November 2015, namely the legalization of pot, changes to physician assisted dying, and leading a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Government officials have told The Canadian Press that Canada’s former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould was involved in government discussions last fall about whether engineering firm SNC-Lavalin should be allowed to avoid criminal prosecution, and the talks were perfectly legal.
The officials said the government would have been remiss not to deliberate over the fate of the Quebec giant, given that a prosecution could bankrupt the company, putting thousands of Canadians out of work.
A DPA (deferred prosecution agreement) is a legal measure similar to a plea deal — would have allowed the Quebec-based multinational engineering firm to avoid prosecution on bribery and fraud charges in relation to contracts in Libya.
The lobbyist registry shows representatives of SNC-Lavalin logged more than 50 meetings with federal officials and parliamentarians on subjects that included “justice” and “law enforcement.”
It is suggested that Jody Wilson-Raybould became thorn in Liberals’ side before SNC-Lavalin case.
Notable chart contacts:
Of note: The fact that are born in the same year and have many chart similarities should give them some good rapport but there is also conflict:
Justin: Mars in Pisces (12th house, inner wheel) opposition Pluto in Libra (6th house)
Jody: Sun in Aries (Justin’s 12th house, outer wheel)opposition Pluto in Virgo (Justin’s 6th house outer wheel) intensifies each opposition
Note: Justin’s soul path: Pluto in Libra; Jody’s Soul Path: Pluto in Virgo)
9th house: Outer wheel: Jody’s Mars: 6:51 Capricorn (outer wheel) is conjunct Justin’s Sun in Capricorn (who is the boss?)
5th house: Jody’s south node: 23:04 Leo (outer wheel) is conjunct Justin’s Ceres:22:39 Leo (inner wheel); Jody’s 11th house Venus: 23:10 Aquarius (outer wheel) opposes Justin’s Ceres (indicative of another battle for supremacy); Jody’s Saturn: 19:21 Taurus (2nd house outer wheel) is in a skipped step position to her own nodal axis and plays into Justin’s chart via the Ceres position and Vesta:2:26 Aquarius (11th house inner wheel) position (an issue of security, protection, etc.)
6th house: Jody’s Uranus: 11:55 Libra (retrograde) opposes Justin’s moon: 11:59 Aries (12th house, inner wheel); Jody’s Mecury: 18:10 Aries is closely conjunct Justin’s moon and his Ascendant
Feb. 12, 2019
Dear Prime Minister:
With a heavy heart, I am writing to tender my resignation as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence.
I want to thank all Canadians, and in particular the residents of Vancouver-Granville, who put their trust in me and supported me as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. When I sought federal elected office, it was with the goal of implementing a positive and progressive vision of change on behalf of all Canadians and a different way of doing politics. My resignation as a Minister of the Crown in no way changes my commitment to seeing that fundamental change achieved. This work must and will carry on.
To Canada’s Veterans and their families: I have the deepest admiration and respect for you. This decision is in no way a reflection of my desire to see your service and sacrifice upheld
and honoured. I only wish that I could have served you longer.
To my officials and ministerial staff: thank you for your hard work in the service of all Canadians. I am truly grateful for all that you have done and will continue to do.
I am aware that many Canadians wish for me to speak on matters that have been in the media over the last week. I am in the process of obtaining advice on the topics that I am legally permitted to discuss in this matter and as such, have retained the Honourable Thomas Albert Cromwell, CC as counsel.
Again, my thanks to all Canadians. Regardless of background, geography, or party affiliation, we must stand together for the values that Canada is built on, and which are the foundation for our future.
I look forward to continuing to serve as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville.
Respectfully,
The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, PC, QC, MP
Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville
February 12, 2019 transits to Jody’s chart:
1st house outer wheel: transiting Mars/Uranus in Aries (balsamic) conjunction; (leading up to this resignation, Mars has surpassed the skipped step square aspect to the south node in Capricorn/north node in Cancer)
12th house outer wheel: Transiting Chiron in Pisces opposes natal Pluto retrograde in Virgo (inner wheel, 6th house)
11th house outer wheel: Transiting Sun conjunct natal north node/Venus in Aquarius (inner wheel)
2nd house outer wheel: Transiting Moon conjunct natal Saturn in Taurus (inner wheel)
(2nd house mid wheel: Progressed Sun in Taurus conjunct progressed Saturn in Taurus)
8th house mid wheel: Progressed moon position (birth time unknown) in Scorpio opposes natal Saturn in Taurus, also progressed Saturn in Taurus and progressed Sun in Taurus
This self-inflicted bungle undermines the government’s professed principles and values all along the line. There is undoubtedly more to come in this affair, but consider the damage that has already been inflicted:
- Trudeau’s image as a feminist leader is shaken. Allowing unidentified Liberals to undermine Wilson-Raybould’s credibility by talking trash about her was bound to be seen as sexist — even among other Liberals. Not a good look for this famously female-friendly prime minister.
- The government’s claim to make Indigenous issues a top priority has also taken a huge hit. Sidelining an Indigenous woman was hugely symbolic. Her father, a hereditary First Nations chief in British Columbia, says she was “kicked in the teeth” when she was ousted from justice. Other First Nations leaders there denounce the language used about her as “racist and sexist.” That hurts.
- Trudeau’s promise back in 2015 to junk the old politics of backroom dealing is looking decidedly faded. Could there be anything more old-style than a big, well-connected Quebec company angling behind the scenes for favourable treatment in a messy legal affair? Yet that’s exactly what SNC-Lavalin was by all accounts busy doing last year while Wilson-Raybould was justice minister and attorney general.
- Likewise, the Liberals’ promise to run a more open government and break the grip of the Prime Minister’s Office hasn’t aged at all well. The central allegation in this affair is that Wilson-Raybould came under undue pressure from the PMO to give SNC-Lavalin a break and suffered the political consequences when she proved insufficiently flexible.
- Worst of all, the suspicion of political interference, or even a botched attempt at political interference, in an important legal matter raises questions about the government’s claim to uphold the rule of law.
It’s certainly true that Wilson-Raybould, as attorney general, had the authority to order prosecutors to work out a plea deal with SNC-Lavalin. She could take into account many factors, including the risk to the company and its employees of forcing it to endure a damaging trial on fraud and corruption charges.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/bill-kelly-what-jody-wilson-raybould-didnt-say-speaks-volumes/ar-BBTx92z?li=AAggNb9
Opinion:
Jody certainly seems to display a strong feminine warrior side. She’s an Aries with Mars in Capricorn – a signature for strong leadership. (Both the natural/un-distorted Aries and Capricorn archetypes are highly principled.) I don’t know if Jupiter is on her MC but she was born with Jupiter at station (just 8 hours prior to birth). That is a signature for her first nations “royal” status (father, Bill Wilson, Kwagiulth (Kwakwaka’wakw) hereditary chief) . That Jupiter station can certainly suggest that she is destined of leadership role (station retrograde is an soul signature amplfication – a reclaiming from a past life.) Jody’s birth-time is unknown, but I feel Jupiter is appropriately positioned in 9th house considering that in addition to her heritage, that she is a lawyer and a politician (debating the law). In addition to Mars/Pluto opposition between charts (a natal signature for Justin), her Mars in Capricorn, and moon/Uranus opposition (also a natal signature for Justin, intensified by Jody’s Uranus retrograde in Libra), their Chiron in Aries contact have entwine them in an inevitable battle. The optics of which display Justin as the weak and wounded male warrior, Jody plays the part of Chiron wounder/catalyst. Public projection/opinion is an added source of significant wounding. The public opinion is hanging Justin. What if this whole thing is a calamity of appearances – what if nothing wrong actually happened, but opinion and projection? (Justin has displayed weakness where we have expected to see strong leadership. i think his greatest folly is that has been trying to please all sides. Pluto in Libra; Chiron in Aries)
~~
February 18, 2019: Gerald Butts, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Trudeau resigns:
Transits for February 18: Venus/Saturn in Capricorn conjunction; Chiron ingress into Aries; Sun ingress into Pisces; Mercury/Neptune conjunction in Pisces
In a major shakeup to the highest ranks of the Prime Minister’s Office, Gerald Butts resigned Monday as Justin Trudeau’s principal secretary.
The bombshell departure — Butts, along with chief of staff Katie Telford, are the two most senior staffers in Trudeau’s inner circle — comes amid allegations that senior members of the PMO pressured former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to help Quebec-based multinational engineering firm SNC-Lavalin avoid criminal prosecution on bribery and fraud charges in relation to contracts in Libya.
In a statement to reporters, Butts said he categorically denies allegations that he or anyone else in the PMO put this sort of pressure on Wilson-Raybould. He said the accusation is “simply not true.”
“At all times, I and those around me acted with integrity and a singular focus on the best interests of all Canadians,” Butts said Monday.
“Canadians are rightly proud of their public institutions. They should be, because they work. But the fact is that this accusation exists. It cannot and should not take one moment away from the vital work the prime minister and his office is doing for all Canadians.
“My reputation is my responsibility and that is for me to defend. It is in the best interests of the office and its important work for me to step away,” he said.
It was not immediately clear who would replace Butts.
Wilson-Raybould announced last week she was quitting the Liberal cabinet just days after a Globe and Mail report claimed she was pressured to direct the Public Prosecution Service of Canada to sign a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) — a legal tool resembling a plea deal — with SNC-Lavalin.
The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing.
The House of Commons justice committee has agreed to study the matter. Opposition members of that body have insisted that Butts should be among the witnesses called to testify about what exactly went on inside the PMO on the SNC-Lavalin matter. Last week, Liberal members defeated an NDP motion that would have compelled Butts and Wilson-Raybould to appear.
Wilson-Raybould has taken the highly unusual step of retaining Thomas Cromwell, a recently retired Supreme Court justice, as her legal counsel as the scandal enters a new phase.
In a tweet, Trudeau said Butts served Canada with “integrity, sage advice and devotion.” He thanked the former staffer for his service and “continued friendship.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/gerald-butts-resigns-pmo-1.5023675
Trudeau loses long-time political ally
In addition to the political partnership, the prime minister is close friends with Butts — a relationship that dates back to their time as students at McGill University in Montreal where they were members of the campus debating club.
Born in Glace Bay, N.S., a coal-mining town on Cape Breton Island, Butts worked on public policy in Ontario before becoming a senior staffer under former Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty at Queen’s Park.
While in provincial politics, Butts crafted policies designed to bolster the party’s progressive credentials. Among the actions, the government phased out coal-fired power plants, implemented full-day kindergarten and increased Ontario’s minimum wage.
After working as a campaigner at the World Wildlife Fund, Butts then made the leap to federal politics and helped chart Trudeau’s political future as leader of the Liberal Party and later prime minister.
The prime minister thanked Butts and Telford by name after clinching power in the 2015 federal election.
“Katie and Gerry are two of the smartest, toughest, hardest-working people you will find anywhere,” Trudeau said at his Montreal-area victory party on the night the Liberals captured a majority government.
“They share with me the conviction that politics doesn’t have to be negative and personal to be successful.”
Praised by his allies as a brilliant mind, and vilified by Liberal foes as the political puppet master behind the prime minister, Butts said Monday he is proud of his time as Trudeau’s right-hand man.
“While it is fashionable sometimes in some quarters to denigrate politicians and public servants, my experience is that the women and men who serve Canadians in elected office and the professional public service are honest, decent, hard-working people who put service of country beyond self every day,” he said.
A well-known policy wonk, Butts has been a vocal defender of the government’s Canada Child Benefit and an advocate for carbon pricing as a solution to climate change.
He was also intimately involved in the NAFTA renegotiation efforts — working closely with U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in particular — that produced a new tripartite trade agreement last fall.
In his resignation letter, Butts said he hoped fighting global warming “becomes the collective, non-partisan, urgent effort that science clearly says is required. I hope that happens soon.”
Butts’ past comments on the energy industry — said before he made the leap to Trudeau’s political team — have provoked the ire of oilpatch boosters.
credit: John Paul (J.P.) Tasker is a reporter in the CBC’s Parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. He can be reached at john.tasker@cbc.ca.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/gerald-butts-resigns-pmo-1.5023675
Feb 19, 2019: Wilson-Raybould to testify in parliamentary probe of SNC-Lavalin scandal
Trudeau also said Wilson-Raybould made the request to address cabinet today, but would not divulge any details of what she said.
Wilson-Raybould was demoted to the Veterans Affairs portfolio earlier this month; she resigned cabinet last week, just days after the Globe and Mail reported that she was pressured to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin case.
Wilson-Raybould said today she remains a Liberal MP.
Trudeau has denied any wrongdoing, as has his former top aide Gerry Butts, who resigned Monday in a bombshell announcement.
Asked today if she was pressured by the Prime Minister’s Office, Wilson-Raybould said she is “still working with my lawyer.”
Wilson-Raybould has retained retired Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell and has maintained she is limited in what she can say due to solicitor-client privilege. As the former attorney-general, Wilson-Raybould acted as the government’s top lawyer.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/wilson-raybould-to-testify-in-parliamentary-probe-of-snc-lavalin-scandal/ar-BBTPhrC?li=AAggNb9
Feb 24 2019:
Excerpt from: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/how-many-times-did-jody-wilson-raybould-need-to-say-no/ar-BBTYy5z?li=AAggNb9
The matter involving SNC-Lavalin’s bid for a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) was settled, theoretically, on Sept. 4, when Kathleen Rousell, the director of Public Prosecutions, informed the company in writing it would ineligible for a remediation agreement as part of a DPA, and thus would have to stand trial on charges it had engaged in bribery and fraud in Libya. As attorney general, Wilson-Raybould could have overruled the prosecution service, and thus preserve SNC-Lavalin’s unfettered access to billions in government contracts. She did not. That was a “No.” Assuming a “No” is final in this setting, however, is to naively underestimate the determination and the clout of the Montreal construction giant that lobbied so effectively to have deferred prosecution agreements passed into law last year.
Not even two weeks after the decision was made, on Sept. 17, Wilson-Raybould discussed the SNC-Lavalin file with the prime minister. As Trudeau reported it, the attorney general felt the need to ask him whether he planned to tell her what to do concerning the prosecution. Any decision “was hers alone to make,” Trudeau told her, a bit of moral suasion familiar to any parent.
The next day, Sept. 18, SNC-Lavalin, clearly not about to take the prosecutors office’s decision, nor Wilson-Raybould’s decision not to overrule it as a “No,” met with Wernick and Finance Minister Bill Morneau to discuss “justice and law enforcement.”
Another letter from Rousell to SNC-Lavalin, this one dated Oct. 9, confirmed again in writing that the company will not be invited to negotiate a remediation agreement. The next day, Oct. 10, SNC-Lavalin issued a news release to say it strongly disagreed with the director of prosecutions’ position and remained open and committed to negotiating a remediation agreement.
Exactly who it would negotiate with was unclear. What we do know is that between early October and Nov. 19 SNC-Lavalin met with two different senior PMO advisors— Elder Marques and Mathieu Bouchard— to discuss “justice and law enforcement.” Visits by SNC-Lavalin lobbyists to the PMO would total 14.
The trees turned colour, leaves fell, chill filled the air, and Jody Wilson-Raybould was still talking about SNC-Lavalin at a Dec. 5 lunch at the Chateau Laurier with Gerry Butts, who has said he told the then justice minister to talk to Wernick.
Wernick revealed this week that he raised the issue of SNC-Lavalin during a Dec. 19 conversation with Wilson-Raybould. He conveyed to her that the prime minister and others were “quite anxious” about the possible economic consequences if SNC-Lavalin were found guilty. That is understandable. Lavalin is a major employer in Quebec. But the law bars prosecutors from considering the national economic interest when they consider offering deferred prosecution to companies charged with bribing foreign officials. Wernick employed a too-big-to fail rhetoric, expressing concern that the board might decide to “close, sell” the company which “would have consequences for 9,000 Canadians, plus the suppliers, plus the pensioners, plus all the communities in which the company’s active.”
And the company’s “share price had tanked,” he said.
In all of those conversations “there was no inappropriate pressure put on the minister at any time,” Wernick said. Even more risible was a comment he’d make later in a scrum with reporters when asked why he’d continue to contact the attorney general three months after a decision had been made: “Because the decision had not already been made,” he said.
May 27 2019:Jody Wilson Raybould and Jane Philpott announce their intention to run as independent candidates for the next federal election.