Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons Monday afternoon to a chorus of calls from across the aisle for him to apologize over comments he made last week about the RCMP.
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon twice challenged him in question period to apologize “to the people of this chamber and this House” for accusing the RCMP of covering up for former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
“Last week, the leader of the Opposition put into question the independence of our judiciary, the independence of our prosecutors, of the police — in fact, the very police that put their lives on the line to protect him,” MacKinnon said.
Poilievre responded by saying the Liberals were “trying to distract from their inflation, rising cost of living, by talking about their corruption.” He did not apologize.
In an interview with a YouTube channel released last week, Poilievre said Trudeau “probably” violated the Criminal Code during the SNC-Lavalin affair.
“These would normally have led to criminal charges, but of course the RCMP covered it all up,” he told Northern Perspectives
Poilievre also said Trudeau broke the law when he took a “free vacation from someone with whom he had government business,” alluding to the 2016 Aga Khan scandal.
In the interview, Poilievre said the Trudeau-era scandals “would normally have led to criminal charges, but of course, the RCMP covered it all up and the leadership of the RCMP is, frankly, just despicable when it comes to enforcing laws against the Liberal government.”
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He offered no proof of a coverup.
Poilievre’s spokesperson sent a written statement on his behalf on Monday afternoon, saying he stands “shoulder to shoulder with the brave men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve.”
“My comments were directed to former RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki, who has a lengthy track record of publicly documented scandals, deception and political interference to the benefit of the Liberal government,” the statement said.
“We called for her resignation. We stand by that call to this day.”
Lucki retired as commissioner in 2023 and was replaced by Mike Duheme, who told reporters last week there was no political interference in cases involving Trudeau.
“I don’t take any orders from any political individual,” Duheme said.
Duheme invited Poilievre to meet with the RCMP to discuss his comments about the organization’s management.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May held a press conference on Monday afternoon to call on Poilievre to retract his comments and apologize.
“You have to know something about the law before you spout off that a former prime minister should be in jail,” she said.
May noted that the former ethics commissioner found Trudeau broke the ethics code when he took a vacation to the Aga Khan’s private island, and said it was not a Criminal Code offence.
“So where is Pierre Poilievre’s notion that the former prime minister should be jailed? It’s deeply worrying, because this is the kind of thing that’s going on right now in (U.S. President Donald) Trump’s United States,” she said.
Interim NDP Leader Don Davies said he felt the comments were “Trumpian” and had no place in Canada.
“Questioning the integrity of the RCMP is also reminiscent of Donald Trump, who is politicizing the justice system, politicizing the police. These are not only irresponsible comments but, frankly, they undermine our democratic traditions and institutions and they’re wrong,” he said.
Reporters asked a number of Conservative MPs about Poilievre’s comments as they arrived for question period on Monday. They all avoided the questions, either by staying quiet or by simply stating they support their leader.
Both Davies and May declined to say whether they think Poilievre ought to remain as Conservative leader.
Conservative party members will decide that during a leadership review at the party’s convention in Calgary in late January.
— With files from Émilie Bergeron and Global News
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