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In this case, of course, the lawyer and client aren’t a mafia hood and his greasy mouthpiece trying to avoid jail time for organized crimes, but the top elected leader in the country and one of his (formerly) most important ministers, claiming they can’t share their actions on public business with the public, for fear they might get in trouble with the law. Um, yeah, OK, but tell me this: suppose Trudeau or Wilson-Raybould were to throw caution to the wind and tell us the truth. Just who, precisely, would come after them for breaking their lawyerly-cliently privilege? The justice minister? She WAS the justice minister. Some deputy? A law prof at Ottawa U? Now that would be a story: prime minister indicted for telling the truth.

Pity the Liberals weren’t familiar with all this super-secrecy stuff when they were raking over the Harper Tories for declining to share details of the Duffy affair and various other transgressions. Of course, apprised of this cabinet confidentiality, lawyer-client privilege stuff, they’d have backed off entirely, apologized profusely, and taken the government at its word. Just like they want us all to do now.

Photo by Adrian Wyld/CP / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Apart from Trudeau looking more ridiculous than at any time outside his Indian costume drama, there is the deeply disturbing treatment of Wilson-Raybould, a woman of obvious talents whose elevation to one of the country’s most senior cabinet posts was widely, and appropriately, heralded as a historic move. A strong, capable woman, a member of the We Wai Kai Nation, former crown prosecutor, treaty commissioner and regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Wilson-Raybould stood as apparent evidence that the prime minister was sincere in his professed determination to champion both the advancement of women and reconciliation with Aboriginal Canadians. Instead, now that she’s somehow made life difficult for Trudeau and his inner circle, she’s dumped from her job, demoted to a lesser post, and we’re treated to anonymous whispers from inside the Liberal high command that she’s stubborn and difficult and hard to get along with. No wonder she quit; she could hardly have avoided it and retained any self respect.

No wonder she quit; she could hardly have avoided it and retained any self respect

Is there a woman out there who didn’t detect the message being sent? Jean Chrétien could be stubborn and ornery, and it didn’t much hurt his march up the ladder. Paul Martin went to war with his own leader in his determination to get ahead. Michael Wilson could be difficult and abrupt, yet was so widely respected his death this week sparked admiring recollections of his drive. But a woman who won’t go along with her boss? Must be a real … well, we all know the word. Show her who’s in charge, stick her in Veterans Affairs and see how she likes that.