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In the call, Wernick repeatedly asks Wilson-Raybould why she was not using all the tools at her disposal on the SNC-Lavalin case. She pushes back, saying she would not override the decision of the director of public prosecutions to pursue a criminal prosecution against SNC-Lavalin for bribery and fraud related to its activities in Libya.

Wernick told her Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was “quite determined” on the matter and would likely “find a way to get it done one way or another.”

If you’re going to record a conversation and it’s between colleagues, I think it’s the responsible, ethical thing to do to advise the person on the other end of the phone that you are recording

In her written submission, Wilson-Raybould acknowledged recording the conversation was an “extraordinary and otherwise inappropriate step,” but said she felt it necessary to have an exact record of what was discussed.

Wernick declined to comment but his lawyer, Frank Addario, said recording the call was “inappropriate.”

The former attorney general testified earlier this month that she believes she was moved out of the justice portfolio to Veterans Affairs in a mid-January cabinet shuffle as punishment for refusing to succumb to relentless pressure last fall from Trudeau, his senior staff, Wernick and others to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin case. She resigned from cabinet a month later. Treasury Board President Jane Philpott resigned a week afterward, citing a loss in confidence in how the government has dealt with the ongoing affair.

Some Liberal MPs have been growing increasingly upset with Wilson-Raybould and Philpott’s seeming desire to keep fanning the flames of the controversy, and have been quietly discussing among themselves how to deal with the pair. The expectation now is that caucus members will insist on expelling them at their next meeting on Wednesday, or earlier if an emergency meeting is called.