TORONTO — An Ontario Liberal MP is speaking out in defence of Jody Wilson-Raybould after the minister was criticized by unnamed Liberal sources in a news article, in the wake of explosive allegations of government interference in the SNC-Lavalin criminal proceedings.

Wilson-Raybould has steadfastly refused to comment on claims from the Globe and Mail that the Prime Minister’s Officer tried to pressure her to interfere in the Quebec’s engineering and construction services company’s criminal trial.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denied that his office “directed” her to interfere.

[READ MORE: Legal community raises alarms over allegations PMO interfered in SNC-Lavalin case]

Over the weekend the Canadian Press reported on confidential sources who called Wilson-Raybould someone who was “difficult to get along with” and someone “who others felt they had trouble trusting.”

The news wire reports another insider calling her “in it for herself.”

The story sparked accusations on social media of a smear campaign against the former attorney general, though Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes came quickly to her defence.

“As someone on the inside, who knows (Wilson-Raybould), I can tell you that she is fierce, smart and unapologetic,” Caesar-Chavannes tweeted late Sunday. “When women speak up and out, they are always going to be labelled. Go ahead. Label away. We are not going anywhere.”

As someone on the inside, who knows @Puglaas, I can tell you that she is fierce, smart and unapologetic. When women speak up and out, they are always going to be labelled. Go ahead. Label away. We are not going anywhere. #IAmWithHer #StandUp #ISeeYou https://t.co/BQWeiitn9R — MP Celina 🇨🇦 (@MPCelina) February 11, 2019

She also retweeted a post from Liberal strategist Lisa Kinsella slamming the comments in the article as “blatant sexism.”

Caesar-Chavannes said she wasn’t available for an interview on Monday.

The Globe reported that the PMO was pressuring Wilson-Raybould to cut a deal with SNC-Lavalin that would allow the company to avoid going to trial over allegations it paid millions in bribes to secure government contracts in Libya.

Known as a “deferred prosecution agreement,” or a “remediation agreement, this sort of arrangement allows companies to pay fines to settle charges, but still admit no criminal wrongdoing. It was only made legal in Canada last year.

[READ MORE: Trudeau denies PMO interfered in SNC-Lavalin case; Scheer slams careful denial]

The Globe story claims that Wilson-Raybould resisted pressure to intervene with the Public Prosecution Service’s decision to proceed with a trial. A few months after that decision was made, she was moved from the attorney general’s office to become the new minister of veterans affairs.

Trudeau repeatedly denied the report last week, but wouldn’t directly answer whether any pressure was put on Wilson-Raybould.

“The allegations in the Globe story this morning are false,” Trudeau told reporters in Vaughan on Thursday. “Neither the current nor the previous attorney general was ever directed by me or by anyone in my office to take a decision in this matter.”

Wilson-Raybould has refused to comment on the allegations, citing solicitor-client privilege.

Liberal MP Wayne Long has released a statement on Monday saying he supports the opposition’s calls for an investigation into the allegations at the justice committee.

Trudeau is expected to field more questions on the allegations at a press conference in Vancouver on Monday afternoon.

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