In view of the abrupt resignation of David Johnston, opposition leaders are calling on the Justin Trudeau-led government to stop wasting time and call a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada’s elections.
Johnston quit his role as special rapporteur investigating apparent Chinese government attempts to influence Canada’s elections in 2019 and 2021. He was heavily criticized after delivering an interim report in May that advised against calling a public inquiry. In early May, Canadian lawmakers called for his removal.
In a chat with newsmen, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said all options were now on the table, and he was going to be canvassing opposition leaders for suggestions.
According to him, if there is a public inquiry they will have to handle the difficult issues of choosing someone to lead it, setting terms of reference and establishing a process for protecting classified information.
He said “The opposition says they want a public inquiry; what would be the terms of reference of that inquiry? How would they protect necessary national security information and the interests of Canada? What would be the timelines? Those are the conversations we’re anxious to have”.
The Minister added that it was time to turn down the partisan temperature and focus on real improvements to make Canada’s democracy stronger.
While noting that he is willing to work with fellow opposition leaders to settle those issues, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the person who leads the inquiry should have no connections to the Trudeau family or Trudeau foundation, no compromising relationships with China and should be non-partisan. He said Justin Trudeau shouldn’t delay in getting an inquiry up and running.
“He needs to call it right away. He needs to get someone who is job ready and we need to have terms of reference that have tight timelines to have the hearings occur as quickly as possible,” he said.
In his resignation, Johnston encouraged the government to move ahead with the path he had laid out. “My objective was to help build trust in our democratic institutions. I have concluded that given the highly partisan atmosphere around my appointment and work, my leadership has had the opposite effect,” he said in a public letter to the prime minister.
On his part, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the government should be following the direction of two motions his party advocated for in Parliament asking for a public inquiry.
He said “We’ve said that a public inquiry was the right way to go. We used parliamentary tools to push for it. We also forced votes on it in Parliament.”
While noting that it is up to the government to put forward names, Singh recommended a current or former federal judge with no history of making political donations and no involvement with the Trudeau foundation.
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