The Canadian Press has learned that the S-N-C Lavalin affair was perhaps not the first time there were tensions between former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Sources say she recommended in 2017 that Trudeau nominate a conservative Manitoba judge to be chief justice of the Supreme Court, even though he wasn't a sitting member of the top court.
He had also been a vocal critic of its activism on Charter of Rights issues.
For her part, Wilson-Raybould told The Canadian Press yesterday -- quote -- ``there was no conflict between the P-M and myself.''
In an email, she characterized the matter as part of the normal process of appointing a Supreme Court justice, which involves confidential conversations and communications.
The issue suggests Trudeau may have had reasons unrelated to the S-N-C-Lavalin affair for moving Wilson-Raybould out of the prestigious Justice portfolio earlier this year.
Wilson-Raybould has said she believes she was moved to Veterans Affairs as punishment for refusing to intervene to stop a criminal prosecution of the Montreal engineering giant on bribery charges.