A Canadian scandal that covers all the bases.

• Date: 01 April 2019
• Author: Atkins, Michael

Let's be clear. The SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal runs deep and is not limited to one event involving Muammar Gaddafi and Libya. As Chrystia Freeland, our foreign minister, is fond of saying, we are punching well above our weight on this one.

It's been a while since a scandal has covered so many bases. If you are an identity politics aficionado, this imbroglio covers women, Indigenous peoples, Quebec sovereignty and Alberta outrage.

Depending on your perspective, the prime minister, in one fell swoop, has wrecked his feminist bona fides by firing a female cabinet minister for standing up to him, hobbled his Indigenous reconciliation initiatives because she is also Aboriginal, and been disproportionately concerned about jobs in Quebec, which means he obviously cares little for jobs in Alberta.

Much of this is a stretch, but understandable, given the prime minister's proclivity for announcing with regularity his immaculate conception...