The clerk of the Privy Council resigned in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, citing a lack of “mutual trust and respect” with opposition party leaders and the need for a clerk to be seen as impartial when determining if foreign interference occurs in the next election. Wernick has faced growing calls to resign since former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould testified that he pressured her to drop criminal charges against SNC-Lavalin. He has maintained that their conversations were neither unlawful nor inappropriate. Wernick will be replaced by Ian Shugart, current deputy foreign affairs minister. (The Logic)

Talking point: Trudeau has now lost both his most influential political adviser—Gerald Butts—and the country’s top public servant over the SNC-Lavalin scandal amid concerns about partisan interference in what is supposed to be an apolitical decision taken by the attorney general. Despite that, on Monday, he appointed former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan to provide “independent recommendations” by June 30 on whether the role of attorney general and justice minister should be split. The catch? It’s not an independent investigation: McLellan will report to the prime minister. And, a narrow examination of cabinet positions is unlikely to shed light on whether any legal or ethical lines were crossed in this case—opposition parties have demanded a public inquiry or an RCMP investigation.