The House: The damage done by the SNC-Lavalin scandal

In the week since the SNC-Lavalin story broke, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has changed his talking points several times.

After the story first hit,Trudeauinsistedthat the allegation in the Globe and Mail story thatJodyWilson-Raybouldhad been pressured by the Prime Minister's Office while serving as minister of justice tohelp the Quebec-based engineering firmSNC-Lavalinavoid criminal prosecution in a bribery case was false. He saidWilson-Raybould'scontinued presence in cabinet, as minister for Veterans Affairs,spoke for itself.

Then she quit and the message changed.Wilson-Raybould,Trudeausaid, had never raised with him the suggestion that the PMO was pressuring her to go easy onSNC-Lavalin, and he made it clear to her that any decisions on the file were hers alone to make.

The shifting nature of Trudeau'sexplanations suggests a recognition that the government's messaging has gotten out of handand a correction was neededtocontain some of the blowback, said one member of former prime minister Paul Martin's inner circle.

Scott Reid, who served as the director of communications toMartin during the sponsorship scandal that led to a public inquiry, said thatif enough voters conclude thatWilson-Raybouldwas thrown under the bus,it could leave a stain on the Liberals that would be hard to shedin an election year.

"Ifa conclusion was reached that that suggests that the only way to defend the actions and the integrity of thegovernment is to put the boots to a former cabinet minister who is a woman, who is Indigenous, who is from British Columbia, who's very sympathetic then I think that would have brand damage," he told host Chris Hall on CBC Radio'sThe House.

"And I think that's why you've seen the government shift its tone over the course of the week, because I think it knew it was headed for trouble on that front."

Wilson-Raybouldhas yet to speak publicly on the matter.Reid said the story is so murky at this pointit's at the pointwhere a former Supreme Court justice should do a month-longinvestigation, and releasetheconclusion publicly.

TheGlobe and Mail reportedlast weekthat officials in Trudeau's office pressured Wilson-Raybouldto tell the director of public prosecutions to draft a'deferred prosecution agreement'that would allow SNC-Lavalinto avoid trial on bribery and fraud chargesin relation to contracts in Libya.

Treasury Board President Jane Philpotttook to Twitter after news of the resignation emerged to express her support for Wilson-Raybould.

Liberal government insiders have said in the past that Wilson-Raybouldwas difficult to work with.Procurement MinisterCarla Qualtrough toldThe Houseshe didn't share that point of view, but also said she believed the prime minister's explanation of the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Qualtrough said she's never felt any pressurefrom the PMOin her portfolio a file which touches on the administration side of corporate wrongdoingadding that if she had felt any of her fellow ministers were being pushed one way or another, she would have reported it to Trudeau herself.

Saskatchewan's court challenge of the carbon tax

A lawyer representing one of the groups intervening in Saskatchewan's challenge of the federal carbon tax plan says a Supreme Court appeal is almost inevitable.

No matter what happens with the current court challenge, Lisa DeMarco, a climate law expert working with theInternational Emissions Trading Association, said "it's very possible and I think almost likely that it will be appealed."

Court proceedings in the province's Court of Appeal took place this week to determine if the federal government has the authority to impose a climate plan on Saskatchewan.

Ottawa's lawyer arguedCanada must have the latitude to address the national and international concerns posed by climate change, while Saskatchewan's Justice Minister Don Morgan admitted one of his government's goals is to send a message.

"Politically, it's important for the message to the people of our province that we are sticking up for them," he said.

While this legal battle rages on, DeMarco said she was heartened to see consensus on one point.

"Neither Saskatchewan, nor Ontario, nor any of the other provinces were saying climate change isn't real."