OTTAWA—The prime minister’s top two aides together spoke to Jody Wilson-Raybould’s senior staffer about the SNC-Lavalin file on Dec. 18, a conversation that the country’s top bureaucrat acknowledged may be flagged as a “concern” by the former attorney general in her highly anticipated testimony next week.

Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, and principal secretary, Gerald Butts — who quit last week, denying any improper PMO conduct — spoke to Jody Wilson-Raybould’s chief of staff, Jessica Prince, a PMO official said late Friday.

Prince answers to Telford within the ranks of political staff.

The Prime Minister’s Office would not detail the nature of their exchange.

But privy council clerk Michael Wernick told a committee during his testimony Thursday that the conversation among staffers for each office — whom he did not name — may be raised by Wilson-Raybould as a concern if and when she ever goes public.

It occurred the day before Wernick himself called Wilson-Raybould to “check in” on the SNC-Lavalin file, he said.

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“I can’t get into any actual details of the conversation itself,” said Trudeau spokesperson Cameron Ahmad.

“Any conversations that were had, whether it was this one or any of the other ones that have been referenced, all fall under the category of what the prime minister has described and, frankly, what the clerk described as appropriate conversations where everything was discussed in a proper way.”

Until now it had not been clear that Telford had any contact with the SNC-Lavalin file. The PMO has previously said Telford never spoke to Wilson-Raybould directly on the matter.

Wernick defended the actions of Trudeau, his senior aides and himself on the file, but conceded Wilson-Raybould may have seen things differently.

“How she interprets or perceives those conversations, she can tell you next week.

“I can tell you my view very firmly is that they were entirely appropriate, lawful, legal. I’m prepared to submit to the judgment of the ethics commissioner on that,” Wernick testified.

The Conservative official Opposition said there may be grounds for the RCMP to investigate whether pressure put on the former attorney general in the SNC-Lavalin prosecution amounted to obstruction of justice.

Conservative MP Michael Cooper, a member of the Commons justice committee, told reporters it was clear based on Wernick’s testimony Thursday that Wilson-Raybould was subjected to pressure to negotiate a remediation agreement with the Quebec company long after the director of public prosecutions rejected it.

“I think there’s certainly a strong basis to be made for an RCMP investigation,” Cooper said.

The Conservatives went further in question period Friday, charging that efforts by Trudeau and his senior aides to make Wilson-Raybould “change her mind” crossed the line. “With everything we now know, how is this not obstruction of justice by the prime minister?” said Conservative MP John Brassard.

Government house Leader Bardish Chagger highlighted Wernick’s testimony that Trudeau had always made clear the final decision on any deferred prosecution the SNC-Lavalin rested with Wilson-Raybould.

On Friday, Trudeau was asked if he viewed any of Wernick’s interactions with Wilson-Raybould as applying undue pressure on her, but he declined to pass judgment. He pointed to “mechanisms to look into exactly those kinds of issues. We have an ethics commissioner who’s pursing an investigation, we have a parliamentary committee.”

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Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith broke ranks with his party mid-week and voted to support the opposition’s unsuccessful call for a judicial inquiry because he said he doesn’t believe the ethics commissioner has a mandate to get to the heart of the matter.

Ethics commissioner Mario Dion said he would look at a possible breach of section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act, which prohibits a public office holder from seeking to influence a decision of another person so as to improperly further another person’s private interests.

Erskine-Smith said when it comes to the merits of a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin, “whether or not an intervention (by the PMO) may have been justified in substance, the real question is the nature of that intervention. Specifically, was undue pressure exerted, contrary to the constitutional convention of attorney general independence?

“In the end, citizens deserve the truth,” he said. “The truth, like confidence in our public institutions, depends on a serious commitment to openness and transparency.”

Trudeau has not yet committed to lifting the limitations of solicitor-client secrecy on Wilson-Raybould, saying he awaits legal advice from her successor, David Lametti.

On Friday, Trudeau urged Canadians to “heed” the testimony of Wernick, Canada’s top civil servant, who serves as the prime minister’s deputy minister and secretary to cabinet.

Wernick said the former attorney general may have felt pressure to “get it right” on the SNC-Lavalin prosecution but that nobody applied inappropriate or undue pressure.

He rejected suggestions the director of public prosecutions had already dismissed the option of a remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin, and even suggested it continued to be an option. “The decision had not already been made,” Wernick told reporters, defending his conversation with Wilson-Raybould on Dec. 19. “She had and continued to have authorities under the law, and it is entirely legal and lawful and appropriate under the Shawcross doctrine to inform a minister of the context in which she’s taking a decision.”

Speaking in St. John’s Friday morning, Trudeau dodged several direct questions about why he, Gerald Butts and Wernick continued to speak to Wilson-Raybould, the then justice minister, about a possible remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin even after the director of public prosecutions had already rejected it.

Trudeau repeatedly answered by declaring the “fundamental responsibilities of any government” is to protect and promote jobs while upholding institutions, respecting the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.

Trudeau called Wernick “an extraordinary public servant who has served this country under governments of different political stripes with integrity and brilliance.” Trudeau added Wernick “is someone who we need to heed very carefully when he chooses to express himself publicly.”

Wilson-Raybould — who has stated she hopes to be able to “speak my truth” — is expected to appear before the justice committee next week.

Lametti said Friday, “We are working to try to find a way such that the former attorney general can, in fact, speak. We are doing our level best to do that.”

Wernick, who is not a lawyer, all but scoffed at Wilson-Raybould’s claim to be bound by solicitor-client privilege.

The blunt-talking privy council clerk said the matter was “never” discussed at cabinet, and that no solicitor-client privilege attaches to the discussions because Wilson-Raybould was never “advising” the government on the matter.

He said the only thing that ever took place were “lawful” discussions about the impact of potential criminal liability on the company.

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