美国国家公共电台 NPR 2nd Member Quits Justin Trudeau's Cabinet Over Allegations Against Canadian PM

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is taking an unexpected political beating. Yesterday, a second member of his cabinet abruptly¹ resigned. The first to quit was Trudeau's former attorney general. She is now accusing him of meddling² in a criminal prosecution³. North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann is in Ottawa, Canada's capital, where he is watching all of this unfold and reporting on it. Hi, Brian.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE⁴: Hi, Rachel.

MARTIN: So up until now, Justin Trudeau had a pretty sterling⁵ reputation, right? And then this scandal...

MANN: (Laughter).

MARTIN: ...Happened so quickly. What happened exactly?

MANN: Yeah. This has really been moving quick. Last month, the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper suddenly ran a big expose claiming Trudeau intervened in a high-level criminal probe. This involved a Canadian company called SNC-Lavalin. That's a big company that's been accused of bribery⁶ and corruption⁷. According to the newspaper's story, Trudeau secretly pressured Canada's then attorney general, a woman named Jody Wilson-Raybould, trying to convince her to go easy on Lavalin. And then last week, in kind of a bombshell moment, Wilson-Raybould herself went public. She told Parliament the newspaper account was true. Here she is.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD: I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere⁸ in the exercise of prosecutorial⁹ discretion¹⁰ in my role as the attorney general of Canada.

MANN: And I should say that Wilson-Raybould has this really sterling reputation here, so this has been painful for Trudeau. She pointed¹¹ the finger right at him, saying he was the guy directing all this secret pressure as a way to shore up his party's political support.

MARTIN: I mean, why? Can you explain that? I mean, does Trudeau have a relationship with this company?

MANN: Lavalin operates from their headquarters in Montreal, which is Justin Trudeau's core base of support. And he has argued that this is an important company for jobs in Canada. She says that was the argument he was making behind the scenes - go soft on this company, or else they'll leave Canada.

MARTIN: So now a second member of his cabinet has resigned, and that just happened yesterday.

MANN: Yeah, this is escalating¹². Canada's Treasury¹³ board president, a woman named Jane Philpott, wrote a public letter arguing Trudeau had broken what she called a fundamental doctrine¹⁴ of the rule of law by pressuring his attorney general. And I should say that Andrew Scheer, head of Canada's opposition¹⁵ Conservative Party, no fan of Trudeau, has now called for the prime minister to resign. Scheer is calling for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to open a new criminal probe of Trudeau's inner circle.

MARTIN: Wow. I mean, is he speaking publicly about this and the calls for him to quit?

MANN: He has been talking. His message has kind of flipped¹⁶ and flopped¹⁷. It's been a tough couple of weeks for him. He argues, basically, that it was important and legitimate¹⁸ for him to advocate on behalf of this Canadian company and the jobs it provides. But he says he did it in ways that were proper. Here he is speaking with reporters just yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU: We will do that, however, in a way that respects our institutions, respects the independence of our judiciary. Canadians expect us to do those two things at the same time. And that's what we will always do.

MARTIN: But now it really is a matter of whether or not he keeps his job, right? I mean, national elections are scheduled for the fall. Can he survive this?

MANN: So the Conservative Party was already coming on strong when all this began to blow up. And now I'm hearing from all sides, including from liberals here, that Trudeau's brand is seriously damaged. There's this very influential¹⁹ Canadian newsmagazine here called Maclean's. They ran an article about the scandal this week, titled "Justin Trudeau, Imposter." And another of Trudeau's former close advisors²⁰ is scheduled to testify before Parliament tomorrow. So this is going to continue. It's a very dangerous moment for this politician. He seemed bulletproof just a few weeks ago.

MARTIN: Brian Mann with North Country Public Radio from Ottawa. Thanks, Brian.

MANN: Thank you.

1 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

2 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

3 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

6 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

9 prosecutorial   

公诉人的，原告的； 起诉的

参考例句：

• If prosecutorial misconduct results in a mistrial, a later prosecution may be barred. 如果检察官的不轨行为导致审判无效，再行起诉可能会被除数禁止。 来自口语例句
• Prosecutorial supervision is required according to public power attribution of civil litigation. 民事诉讼的个性和检察监督是对立统一的关系，并不排斥检察监督。

10 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

11 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

13 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

14 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

17 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

19 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

20 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网