Jody Wilson-Raybould's father refuses to stay quiet over controversy

People say fathers and daughters have a special relationship, and apparently that applies to politicians, too.

Take Jody Wilson-Raybould as an example. She is a British Columbia MP who worked her way up through the ranks as a lawyer before entering federal politics with the Liberals. She eventually became Canada’s first Indigenous attorney general, a post she held for more than three years.

Now, the former justice minister’s father is fervently defending his daughter amid a growing political controversy. Speaking Tuesday on CBC News Network’s Power and Politics, Bill Wilson claimed his daughter was “kicked in the teeth” by the prime minister when she was demoted in a January cabinet shuffle.

“That was a clear slap in the face for all Indians across the country,” Wilson said. “The only thing lower than veterans affairs is Indian affairs, and so for all Indians across the country, that was a real slight.”

Wilson-Raybould has been all over the news this week after she resigned her post as minister of veterans affairs. Her departure from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet appears to have given legs to an explosive newspaper report.

The Globe and Mail reported last Thursday the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) allegedly pressured Wilson-Raybould (while she was justice minister) to intervene in the case of SNC-Lavalin to help them avoid a criminal prosecution on charges of fraud and corruption by offering a remediation agreement.

The prime minister has denied the allegations on the day they were published, referring to them as “false.” Days later, he said the fact that Wilson-Raybould was still in cabinet spoke for itself — right before she resigned.

In her resignation letter, Wilson-Raybould said she was seeking legal advice from Thomas Cromwell, a former Supreme Court justice, on what she can or cannot reveal publicly.

“The issue of solicitor-client privilege is not a simple one,” Trudeau told reporters Monday. He added that he asked his new justice minister, David Lametti, to look into the matter of solicitor-client privilege and report back with recommendations on how to move forward with what.

“It’s not like Jody to be muzzled in any manner. She’s a very strong-willed, talented individual,” Wilson told Global News. “I’m ashamed of what the prime minister has done to my daughter. But I’m also ashamed, if these allegations prove out, [of] what he’s doing to this country and how we govern ourselves.”

Wilson weighed in on his daughter’s situation on Facebook the same day the allegations were published.

“History will prove that she did the right thing. – Her DEMOTION makes sense now , UGLY POLITICAL SENSE. – Good for you JODY !! – MUM would be proud of you. I AM PROUD OF YOU !!!!”

Three days later, Wilson commented again.

“THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES” – JODY was demoted because she would not ‘play ball’ with the Big Boys who run the Liberal Party. Big industry & jobs threatened by honesty and integrity? Where have I heard this before?”

When asked this week how he thinks the prime minister has handled this matter, Wilson didn’t hold back.

“Shamefully. Stupidly,” he told Global News. “It disgusts me. No one should be treated this way. And especially somebody who is representative, whether she wants to be or not, of Aboriginal people, being treated and kicked in the face the way we always have been. By his father, now by him, the Conservatives and all the other governments. Ridiculous.”

Wilson was a First Nations chief in British Columbia when he had a direct exchange with then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau during a 1983 Constitutional conference on native issues. Wilson told the elder Trudeau he had two girls living on Vancouver Island who had dreams of becoming a lawyer and eventually prime minister.

“Tell them I’ll stick around until they’re ready,” the elder Trudeau said.

There were laughs in the crowd. More than 35 years later, there seems to be less laughter now.