Thread by @MsAmyMacPherson

1/25 #THREAD On the #ethics of Jody Wilson-Raybould recording a convo with Michael Wernick RE #SNCLavalin

Read further to debunk the #CDNmedia & partisan spin + public's grasp of #CDNpoli #CDNlaw that's circulating social media

(Ex. of that mythology)

https://twitter.com/btaplatt/status/1111665372065943552

2/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

It's not possible for pundits & partisan actors to have their cake & eat it too

Due to the barrage of biased misinformation about Jody Wilson-Raybould's role as attorney general vs justice minister, it's necessary to explain the basics

3/25 If Jody Wilson-Raybould assumed the role of solicitor to the govt in this #SNCLavalin matter, it wouldn't be unethical to record her calls w clients & witnesses #CDNpoli

This is standard practice in #CDNlaw, so lawyers don't forget details & properly document billable hours

4/25 But... & this is a big BUT

If Jody Wilson-Raybould felt she was acting as solicitor to the govt RE #SNCLavalin, an ethical lawyer would inform the other party that she was recording the call for these purposes at the onset #CDNpoli #CDNlaw

She didn't inform Michael Wernick

5/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw

Therefore it's difficult to defend Jody Wilson-Raybould RE her call with Michael Wernick that is now widely published

Distributing any call between a lawyer & client, even if that client is the govt, is an absolute breach of trust & #ethics

6/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

It was Jody Wilson-Rabould who cited solicitor-client privilege when initially declining to comment on the #SNCLavalinScandal, so much so that she sought advice from a judge on circumventing that confidentiality

7/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

What matters is Jody Wilson-Raybould's state of mind (mens rea) at the time she recorded a call with Michael Wernick & she regularly repeated her belief that she was operating under solicitor-client privilege on behalf of the govt client

8/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli

Therefore Jody Wilson-Raybould is essentially confessing that she recorded Michael Wernick, as part of her govt client party, in a clandestine manner that is contrary to #CDNlaw #ethics obligations

She didn't notify Wernick, the PCO, PMO, or PMJT

9/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

To the lay person this sounds reasonable, given that she was caught in a contentious matter with her employer, due to divergent opinions on how to proceed between her & her govt client

But lawyers are held to a higher ethical standard

10/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #Ethics

If every lawyer secretly recorded their clients & published those phone calls to #CDNmedia whenever the client disagreed with the solicitor's advice, we would no longer have #RuleOfLaw or solicitor-client privilege in #CDNlaw

It's indefensible

11/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli

Just because partisan interests wish to undermine the current govt & prime minister, it doesn't mean the attorney general can distribute secret recordings of her govt client

It doesn't change the rules of #CDNlaw, #Ethics or solicitor-client privilege

12/25 #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

PMJT partially waived #CabinetConfidence to let Jody Wilson-Raybould testify, but he never waived solicitor-client privilege as govt's lawyer in the #SNCLavalin matter

The Wernick recording was done by solicitor-client privilege according to JWR

13/25 #CDNpoli #CDNlaw

Jody Wilson-Raybould couldn't claim undue political pressure RE #SNCLavalin as the attorney general, if she wasn't approaching the matter via the solicitor-client lens & state of mind

That means she needed to notify Wernick he was being recorded #Ethics

14/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

On the other side of the coin, if Jody Wilson-Raybould secretly recorded her convos with Michael Wernick as the justice minister, at the time she engaged in this behaviour it was a breach of #CabinetConfidentiality & employment contract

15/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

It doesn't matter that PMJT waived any portion of #CabinetConfidentiality to permit Jody Wilson-Raybould to testify RE #SNCLavalinScandal

What matters is her mind-state when she secretly recorded calls w Michael Wernick prior to waiver

16/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli

I regret needing to be the voice of reason, but Jody Wilson-Raybould is no shrinking violet & it benefits no one to treat an attorney-general like a damsel in distress in the aftermath

She made deliberate choices to breach #ethics for personal reasons

17/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli

Either Jody Wilson-Raybould breached #CabinetConfidentiality & employment contract by collecting & distributing secretly recorded calls with her employer

Or she breached #CDNlaw #Ethics by failing to notify Wernick he was being recorded as govt client

18/25 Conflating #CabinetConfidentiality & Jody Wilson-Raybould's employment contract with #CDNlaw #Ethics & solicitor-client privilege doesn't absolve an attorney general of wrongdoing on both fronts

It only muddies the facts for personal &/or partisan gain #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli

19/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw

It gives me no pleasure to criticize a successful, Indigenous woman, but I'd be abandoning my own #ethics if I turned a blind eye just because she's a minority woman

Jody Wilson-Raybould was the master of her own conflict of interest w Wernick

20/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

In Jody Wilson-Raybould's defence, if one is possible, there has never been a better reason & example to separate the role of attorney general from justice minister, so these duties can't be confused in contentious matters going forward

21/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw

It appears Jody Wilson-Raybould was confused between her obligations as solicitor to the govt & justice minister from a personally defensive viewpoint

Whenever she felt her authority challenged, she panicked & cherry-picked which hat to wear

22/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw

Unfortunately that cherry-picking led to breaching her professional #ethics, whether it was solicitor-client privilege as attorney general or #CabinetConfidentiality as the justice minister, in her relations w Michael Wernick, PCO, PMO & PMJT

23/25 #SNCLavalinScandal

The reason Jody Wilson-Raybould's #CDNlaw #Ethics matter beyond political mudslinging is because #SNCLavalin can now claim corruption in its criminal case

It can even sue #CDNpoli for maliciously leaking details to harm its reputation extra-judicially

24/25 #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

Moreover, Jody Wilson-Raybould wants an investigation into the original #CDNmedia leak about her dispute with govt RE #SNCLavalin, but whoever leaked her personal plight broke #CDNlaw confidentiality & committed a breach of trust on her watch

25/25 #SNCLavalin #CDNpoli #CDNlaw #Ethics

I think the mistake #CDNmedia & pundits are committing is framing Jody Wilson-Raybould, PMJT & the #CDNpoli govt as strict adversaries, forcing the public to take one or the other's side

What if it was a campaign to undermine them all?