Marathon Commons Voting Over, Philpott Interview Raises New Questions On SNC-Lavalin Affair

The Conservatives' marathon vote protest in the Commons ended in the wee hours this morning, but their cause got an added boost after Maclean's magazine ran an interview with Jane Philpott saying there's "much more to the story" when it comes to the SNC-Lavalin controversy.

The Conservative Opposition triggered the voting marathon in Ottawa after the Liberal-dominated justice committee shut down further investigation into the SNC-Lavalin affair. For more than 30 hours, the House of Commons was engaged in round-the-clock voting that kept MPs close to their seats.

The voting got underway around 6 p.m. ET Wednesday and continued until almost 1 a.m. ET Friday, with members voting line by line on the Liberal government's spending plans.

Philpott's interview with Maclean's — her first substantial interview since resigning from cabinet earlier this month — set official Ottawa buzzing and is certain to dominate the SNC-Lavalin conversation.

In the story, published Thursday morning, the Liberal MP said she had concerns about the government's handling of the SNC-Lavalin case before the controversy became public in January. She alleged Canadians have been prevented from hearing more about what went on in government circles due to efforts by the Prime Minister's Office to "shut down the story."

"My sense is that Canadians would like to know the whole story," Philpott said.

"I believe we actually owe it to Canadians as politicians to ensure that they have the truth. They need to have confidence in the very basic constitutional principle of the independence of the justice system."