Justin Trudeau promised during a press conference on Thursday to “take many lessons” from a scandal that has caused two of his cabinet ministers and a longtime senior aide to step down, but refused to apologise for the situation.
The Canadian prime minister described the controversy plaguing his office as an erosion of trust after the Globe and Mail newspaper reported last month that his staff put pressure on his ex-attorney general and justice minister to try to avoid a criminal prosecution of the Montreal-based engineering company SNC-Lavalin.
The iconic firm – based in the prime minister’s own district – has faced allegations of bribes for government contracts in Libya.
Critics have said Mr Trudeau’s alleged intervention would be improper political meddling in a case.
“There was no inappropriate pressure,” Mr Trudeau said. “I’m obviously reflecting on lessons learned in this.”
“Each of these interactions was a conversation among colleagues about how to tackle a challenging issue,“ he said about his discussions with Jody Wilson-Raybould, his former attorney general.
“However, I now understand that she saw it differently.”
Gerald Butts, Mr Trudeau’s top aide and close friend, resigned last week and denied that he or anyone in the prime minister’s office pressured Ms Wilson-Raybould.
Mr Trudeau has also said his job is to stand up for workers' jobs. If convicted criminally, SNC-Lavalin would be banned from receiving any federal government business for a decade.
The company is a major employer in Quebec, with about 3,400 employees in the province, 9,000 employees in Canada and more than 50,000 worldwide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
