Sunny ways have officially lawyered up: what this means going forward

Trudeau and some senior officials have officially lawyered up, as the Globe and Mail reported.

One law firm has been hired to represent Trudeau himself while a separate law firm has been hired to represent senior PMO staff.

Separate legal representation is necessary where parties’ interests might not perfectly align. For example, if charged with a crime, Trudeau and his staff would have the legal right to point the finger at each other, in which case everyone will be very glad that they had separate lawyers all along.

Since the RCMP does not comment on investigations, which means all eyes will be on the legal bills, which the government pays according to section 119 of the Financial Administration Act.

It requires that the Treasury Board be of the opinion that the official needing legal representation “acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests” of the government.

The most recent President of the Treasury Board was Minister Philpott, whose vacancy will be filled in tomorrow’s cabinet shuffle. Whoever he picks could be in charge of deciding whether the government continues to front Trudeau’s legal bills.

We know that the Liberals have a habit of destroying evidence, even when that evidence is important for economic purposes, or even for saving lives. It is a party that valued partisanship to the point of turning a blind eye to warning signs of the tainted-blood scandal.

But now that the top dogs have personally lawyered up, the coverup effort becomes more difficult, as every action will be scrutinized by the opposition, the media, the police, the Ethics Commissioner(‘s staff), China, and the OECD.

Moral of the story: Never ignore your lawyer.