Heads up, political speculators: Are you worried that you might have missed a plot twist in the increasingly murky tale that has emerged as a result of allegations that former justice minister Jody Wilson Raybould was pressured to intervene in the criminal prosecution of Quebec-based mega-engineering firm SNC-Lavalin?

Fear not: iPolitics has you covered.

We’ve put together a carefully curated timeline of key events that may or may not turn out to be relevant to the as yet unconfirmed claims of attempted political interference at the highest levels of government.

In the interest of keeping it manageable in scope, this particular timeline — which is based on media reports and public records – begins on October 10, 2018, when SNC-Lavalin went public with the news that the director of public prosecutors had decided not to “invite” them to negotiate an agreement to defer prosecution on two charges of bribery and fraud related to actions by former company officials in Libya.

To be clear, that should in no way be taken to suggest that everything that happened before that point is somehow irrelevant— in particular, SNC-Lavalin’s two-year campaign to get the federal government to bring in legislation to enable such deferral agreements, which finally came to fruition in the 2018 budget.

We’re just trying to focus on what is, at least at the moment, the most critical unresolved question: namely, was the now former minister pressured to wade into the dispute between SNC-Lavalin and the public prosecutions office, and was she ultimately demoted from her post when she refused to do so?

Without further ado, here’s our rundown — which, like all such documents, should be considered a work in progress, and will undoubtedly be updated as the story unfolds.

UPDATE (Feb. 20, 2019): The timeline has now been updated to include new details on the date on which the director of prosecution services initially advised SNC-Lavalin that it would not be inviting them to negotiate a remediation agreement at the time, as well as registered lobbying communication activities that took place after that point but before SNC-Lavalin publicly announced that decision.

September 4, 2018

According to federal court records, director of public prosecutions Kathleen Roussel informs SNC-Lavalin that “that she intended to proceed with a prosecution on bribery and fraud charges against the Montreal-based engineering giant stemming from its business dealings in Libya.” (Source: The Globe and Mail)

September 17, 2018

According to the prime minister, he and his then-attorney general discuss the SNC-Lavalin at some point in September, during which he “told her directly that any decisions on matters involving the director of public prosecutions are hers alone.” (Source: Trudeau’s Feb. 11/12 press conference)

September 18, 2018

SNC-Lavalin representatives report three separate lobbying communications (which could have taken place in person or via phone) related to justice and law enforcement issues with:

Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his chief of staff, Ben Chin

Deputy Finance Minister Paul Rochon, his chief of staff Tasha Hanes and assistant deputy minister Richard Botham

Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick and secretary to cabinet Catrina Tapley

A second filing reports another lobbying communications with Rochon, Hanes and Botham on September 24.

(Source: Lobbying Registry, Office of the Lobbying Commissioner)

October 10, 2018:

In a press release headlined “Update on federal charges by the Public Prosecutor Service of Canada,” SNC-Lavalin reveals that the company “has been advised by the Director of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (DPPSC) that at this time they will not invite SNC-Lavalin to negotiate a Remediation Agreement.”

The release goes on to state that SNC-Lavalin “strongly disagrees with the DPPSC’s current position and remains open and committed to negotiating such an agreement in the interest of its employees, partners, clients, investors, pensioners and other stakeholders, all innocent parties that have been affected during the last six years, and now face an unnecessary extended period of uncertainty.”

(Source: SNC-Lavalin)

October 11, 2018:

According to the lobbying registry, one or more unnamed SNC-Lavalin representatives discuss “justice and law enforcement” issues with PMO senior advisor Elder Marques, which could refer to the company’s stated interest in deferred-prosecution agreements as a public policy measure, as per the accompanying registration.

Over the next month, similarly unnamed SNC-Lavalin representatives report lobbying communications with a series of senior political and government officials on “justice and law enforcement,” including Canada’s ambassador to the United States David McNaughton (Oct. 17, Nov. 7), Atomic Energy Canada CEO Richard Sexton (Oct. 26), PMO senior advisor Mathieu Bouchard (Nov. 5 and 11) and Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s chief of staff Ben Chin (Nov. 19).

The discussion with Chin is the last recorded communication by an SNC-Lavalin official, although communications that took place in January might not have been submitted to the registry yet.

(Source: Lobbying Registry, Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada.)

October 19, 2018:

SNC-Lavalin formally files a notice of an application for judicial review at federal court, which will attempt to overturn the decision by the director of public prosecutions to reject a remediation agreement.

December 5, 2018:

Wilson-Raybould “raise[s] the issue” of SNC-Lavalin’s “remediation case” during a meeting with Trudeau’s principal secretary, Gerald Butts, at the Chateauy Laurier restaurant.

According to PMO spokesman Cameron Ahmad, he advises her to “talk to Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick.” (Source: The Globe and Mail )

January 10, 2019:

Treasury Board President Scott Brison announces that he will be resigning from cabinet and retiring from federal politics.

January 14, 2019:

To fill the vacancy created by Brison’s departure, the prime minister moves Wilson-Raybould from justice to veterans affairs, which many political observers see as a demotion, although both Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould dismiss that suggestion during their respective post-shuffle media availabilities.

A few hour after accepting her new post, Wilson Raybould posts a statement to her MP website that includes her “reflections about her time” as attorney general that highlights the “dual role” of serving as both justice minister — and “legal advisor to cabinet” — and attorney general, who has “unique responsibilities” to uphold the rule of law.

“It has always been my view that the Attorney General of Canada must be non-partisan, more transparent in the principles that are the basis of decisions, and, in this respect, always willing to speak truth to power,” she notes.

“This is how I served throughout my tenure in that role.”

February 7, 2019:

The Globe and Mail publishes a story alleging that “unnamed officials” within the Prime Minister’s Office “had urged [Wilson-Raybould]… to press the public prosecution office to abandon the court proceedings” against SNC-Lavalin. The story also claimed that Wilson-Raybould “came under heavy pressure to persuade” the federal prosecution office to “change its mind” on the decision not to offer to negotiate a DPA with the firm.

The story includes a statement from PMO press secretary Chantal Gagnon, who states that PMO “did not direct the attorney-general to draw any conclusions on this matter.”

Later in the day, Trudeau is asked about the story at a media availability in Toronto, and delivers a similar response.

In a brief exchange with reporters outside the House, Wilson Raybould says that, as the former legal advisor to the government, she can’t comment on the matter.

February 8, 2019:

Opposition members of the House justice committee file a formal request asking for an emergency meeting to be convened to discuss a motion to investigate “the disturbing reports of political interference by the Prime Minister’s Office in the functions of the Attorney General of Canada,” which, as per the proposed terms, would include calling as witnesses Wilson-Raybould herself, as well as her successor, David Lametti; Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick; Public Prosecutions Director Kathleen Roussel, Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford and his principal secretary Gerald Butts, PMO staffers Mathieu Bouchard and Elder Marques and Wilson-Raybould’s chief of staff Jessica Prince. (Source: Conservative Party press releases.)

In response, Justice committee chair Anthony Housefather schedules a meeting for the following Wednesday (Feb. 13). (Source: Official committee listings)

February 11, 2019:

the New Democrat announces that, based on recent media reports, federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion has launched an investigation into the alleged interference as a potential breach of the conflict of interest rules.

Meanwhile, after arriving in British Columbia the previous day, Trudeau tells reporters that he has met with WIlson-Raybould “a couple of times already.” He says that he “welcomes” Dion’s investigation, and suggests that Wilson-Raybould’s continued presence in cabinet “speaks for itself.” (Source: Trudeau’s Feb 11 press conference in BC)

Later that evening, Trudeau speaks with Wilson-Raybould again, at which point she informs him that she will be “tendering her resignation from cabinet.” (Source: Feb 12 statement from PMO)

February 12, 2019:

Wilson-Raybould posts her letter of resignation from cabinet to her MP website, which acknowledges that “many Canadians wish for [her] to speak on matters that have been in the media over the past week,” and notes that she has retained former Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell as counsel, and is “in the process of receiving advice on the topics that [she] is legally permitted to discuss in this matter.”

When asked about Wilson-Raybould’s resignation at a media availability in Winnipeg, Trudeau says he is “surprised”, “disappointed” and “puzzled” by her decision to step down, but reiterates that his government “did its job … according to all the rules.”

He adds that “If someone felt that we did not, someone within the government, a minister, particularly the attorney general, then it was her responsibility to come directly to me and highlight that … She did not.” (Source: Toronto Star 2/12/2019)