OTTAWA | Former Governor General David Johnston has been appointed as the Independent Special Rapporteur on Foreign Interference in our Federal Election Process.
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Prime Minister Trudeau made the announcement this afternoon after consulting all parties in the House of Commons, he said without specifying the nature of this consultation.
“David Johnston brings impeccable integrity, a wealth of experience and great skill, and I am confident that he will lead an impartial review to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to preserve our democracy and maintain and strengthen the confidence in him,” said the Prime Minister.
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Mr. Johnston’s mandate is to examine the consequences of foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. He will make recommendations on how to better protect our democracy and maintain the trust of Canadians. The government indicates that it will respect its recommendations, including that of launching an independent public inquiry if necessary.
Ties with China
The former Governor General has visited China more than once over the years and maintains intimate ties with that country. He notably holds a doctorate honoris causa from Nanjing University, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China.
His three daughters all studied in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai and “today they share their appreciation of the Chinese language and culture with their loved ones,” Mr Johnston said at a banquet in Beijing in 2013. On this occasion, he underlined the objective of Canada and China to each welcome 100,000 Canadian and Chinese students by 2017.
Four years later, Johnston returned to China and was received with great fanfare by Chinese President Xi Jinping just as Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo died in prison. A human rights activist and opponent of the regime, Mr. Xiaobo is the second Nobel Peace Prize winner in history to have perished in prison. The first was the German journalist and pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, detained by the Nazi regime.
The opposition wants an investigation
Without questioning the skills and integrity of the special rapporteur, the Bloc Québécois and the NDP continue to criticize Justin Trudeau for not having launched the public inquiry demanded by all the opposition parties.
“Without judging Mr. Johnston’s record, one can only note that Justin Trudeau is stubborn in not launching now the public and independent inquiry that everyone is calling for. There is no question of using the mandate of the special rapporteur, the details and duration of which we do not yet know, to keep Parliament and the population in the dark,” said Yves-François Blanchet, the leader of the Bloc. Quebecers.
“We have no problem with the choice. Mr. Johnston is a respectable and honest person, added Alexandre Boulerice, deputy leader of the NDP. But we have a problem with the post as such. Justin Trudeau should have shown leadership and launched a public inquiry himself (…) He is the Prime Minister.”
The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilièvre, has not yet reacted to Mr. Johnston’s appointment. But he said earlier this week that Justin Trudeau “could pick someone independent, but he won’t.”
Professor of law expert in Canadian democracy and author of more than 25 books, Mr. Johnston became Governor General of Canada in 2010 under the Conservative government of Stephen Harper and remained in office until 2017, two years after the accession to power of the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau.
Before becoming a representative of the monarchy in the country, Mr. Johnston had in 2007 been appointed special adviser responsible for drawing up the mandate for a public inquiry into the Airbus affair by former Prime Minister Harper. This investigation had led to the Oliphant Commission charged with shedding light on the commercial relations between former Prime Minister Mulroney and the German-Canadian businessman, Karlheinz Schreiber.
Who is David Johnson?
- Born June 28, 1941 near Sudbury, Ontario
- Studied at Harvard, law at the University of Cambridge and Queen’s University
- Served as Vice-Chancellor of McGill University, where he also taught
- Appointed Governor General by Stephen Harper in 2010. Position he held until 2017, replaced by Julie Payette