Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is responding after Treasury Board president Jane Philpott handed in her resignation Monday afternoon over the S-N-C-Lavalin scandal.
In handing in her resignation, Philpott said she's lost confidence in the way the government has dealt with criminal charges against the Montreal engineering giant.
Her resignation came after her close friend and colleague, former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, quit the cabinet amid allegations the Prime Minister's Office improperly pressured her to stop a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.
At a rally Monday night in Toronto, Trudeau told the crowd that the affair has "generated an important discussion."
He went out of his way to thank Philpott for her service and praise her various accomplishments but he also said her decision to resign was not a surprise.
Following Philpott's resignation, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer renewed his call for Trudeau to resign and urging other cabinet ministers to follow Philpott's example or be seen as part of the, quote, "ethical rot that infects this government."
New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated his call for a public inquiry into the affair.