Jane Philpott’s absence from the federal cabinet will be greatly felt, Yukon MP Larry Bagnell said Monday.

The continuing aftermath of the SNC-Lavalin affair claimed another casualty as the recently-shuffled Philpott stepped down Monday.

Bagnell had watched as Philpott was shuffled from the Indigenous Services portfolio into the presidency of the Treasury Board in January.

“I wasn’t in cabinet, but from what I could see, (she was) a very effective minister,” Bagnell told the Star Monday afternoon of Philpott’s performance.

He listed the assisted dying and the child welfare files as among her important works throughout the years.

Philpott had a short-lived tenure with the board of fewer than two months. It began after Scott Brison stepped down from the helm early this year and retired from politics.

Just hours after Philpott’s resignation notice Monday, Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former justice minister and attorney general, sent out a message of support on Twitter to Philpott.

“For almost 4 years our country has witnessed your constant & unassailable commitment to always doing what is right and best for Cdns,” Wilson-Raybould’s account showed.

“You are a leader of vision & strength & I look forward to continuing to work alongside you.”

For her part, Philpott expressed her support for Wilson-Raybould, who testified before the federal justice committee last Wednesday, in her resignation.

“Unfortunately, the evidence of efforts by politicians and/or officials to pressure the former Attorney General to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin, and the evidence as to the content of those efforts have raised serious concerns for me,” Philpott wrote.

“Those concerns have been augmented by the views expressed by my constituents and other Canadians.”

That wasn’t entirely a foreign concept to Bagnell, as the MP noted he’d had conversations with his own constituents about the matter.

“I have heard of a few on both sides on that case, not a lot,” he said Monday, explaining they included the technicalities of deferred prosecution agreements and their usefulness.

As an outsider not in cabinet watching the matters unfold, Bagnell saw first Wilson-Raybould step aside, followed by Philpott on Monday.

Much like last week, he shied away from saying definitively whether he has lost confidence (like Philpott) in his party’s leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“My mood is a bit disappointed that we lost two good cabinet ministers, but like I said, it wouldn't be fair (for me to comment),” he said.

“I’m just hoping that when the rest of the information comes out, this (can be) settled.”

In efforts to get to some of that information, the federal NDP raised a motion on Feb. 20 that called on the prime minister to waive privilege and urged the government to launch a public inquiry.

Bagnell joined a host of all but two Liberal MPs in voting that motion down, noting that he hoped the two other events would help provide clarity.

Philpott’s letter, meanwhile, wasn’t cryptic in her support for Trudeau.

She noted that “sadly, I have lost confidence in how the government has dealt with this matter and in how it has responded to the issues raised.

“There can be a cost to acting on one’s principles, but there is a bigger cost to abandoning them,” Philpott added.

Bagnell said there is still much more left to be heard, calling Philpott’s resignation “a big loss for cabinet.

“We’ve heard Wilson-Raybould’s (side), which I thought was very good and detailed which was excellent, but there’s another witness coming this week,” he said of Gerald Butts.

The former principal secretary and close friend of the prime minister, Butts resigned last month. He was scheduled to appear before the justice committee Wednesday.

“I don’t think it’s fair to judge in this particular situation until all the evidence is brought forward,” Bagnell said, referencing Butts’ appearance.

“I’m just carrying on in my regular work.”

Bagnell was asked if he’s nervous about his political prospects or alignment with the party going forward, with just over seven months left until the next federal election. He maintained that isn’t the case.

“I’m confident that I’m doing the best job I can, and that’s why I got elected; I’m continuing to do that,” he said.

“It’s not about me, as I’ve always said.

“It’ll be up to the electorate in relation to this particular item.”

As for Philpott’s comment on the government’s handling over the last several weeks, the Yukon representative did share some words about a B.C. MP who likened Wilson-Raybould’s concerns to “sour grapes.”

That’s Jati Sidhu, a Liberal who told The Abbotsford News that he suspected the former attorney general spoke up because her father or somebody else was “pulling the strings.

“The way she’s acting, I think she couldn’t handle the stress,” Sidhu said then. His comments were called misogynistic and sexist by the opposition – prompting an apology from Sidhu on the floor.

“He should never have said that, and he apologized in the House of Commons,” Bagnell said Monday.

“If there are individual MPs in any party making negative comments related to women, obviously, that’s totally unacceptable.”

As for what’s next: Butts’ committee testimony, and Trudeau gearing up to deliver his third cabinet shuffle for this calendar year.