(CNN) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday cited an "erosion of trust" and a breakdown in communications between his office and a former Cabinet minister for the eruption of a brewing scandal seven months ahead of national elections.

Defending himself and his government in a controversy that could threaten his and his Liberal Party's political future, Trudeau acknowledged improvements can be made in how officials communicate and foster openness.

"There was no breakdown of our systems, of our rule of law, of the integrity of our institutions," he told reporters in Ottawa.

Trudeau's former minister of justice and attorney general has said she was pressured to help a Quebec-based construction company to settle a pending criminal case amid allegations it bribed officials in Libya for government contracts, The Globe and Mail reported last month.

The official, Jody Wilson-Raybould, later alleged in testimony before the House Justice Committee that she faced "veiled threats" and "sustained" pressure to help Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin. If convicted, the company -- with 9,000 employees in Canada and thousands more worldwide -- would be barred for a decade from getting government contracts.

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