(Ottawa) Canadian intelligence services have never raised a red flag to signal a possible attempt to interfere by China in Canada through the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, insisted its interim president and CEO , Edward Johnson. His testimony, which offered no new insight into how the Chinese donation was repaid, was hacked to pieces by the opposition.
The appearance of the organization’s representative before a Commons committee on Tuesday was in line with those of former leader Morris Rosenberg and Alexandre Trudeau: he too pleaded that the Foundation had nothing to blame himself, denied Pascale Fournier’s version of the facts and questioned, although more subtly than Justin Trudeau’s brother, the work of the media.
In his opening statement, he lamented that the crisis had earned the organization “undesirable and unjustified attacks”, especially since “CSIS [Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité] never raised a red flag” on interference, he told the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
To Tory MP Michael Barrett, who asked him how he could be convinced that the Chinese regime had no intention of using the Foundation as a vehicle for interference, he replied with a jab at the daily The Globe and Mailwho reported on these allegations.
My position is that there was never an occasion for the ‘so-called’ interference operation to take place.
Edward Johnson, Interim President and CEO of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation
Bloc member René Villemure asked the founding member of the Foundation how the committee could reconcile his version with that of former president and CEO Pascale Fournier. The latter, who resigned from her post in the wake of the Chinese donation affair, launched an attack in good standing against her former colleagues during her appearance before the same committee.
“I can’t explain it, and I’m sorry. I can’t speak for her. But I know what is happening at the Foundation at the moment, and that makes me optimistic,” he replied in French. He had earlier assured that the selection process for the next cohort of scholars was underway and thanked his “wonderful and enthusiastic” team.
Unanswered questions
He was, however, more than sparse with details on how the $140,000 sum was ultimately handed over to the controversial Chinese donor – far too much to the liking of elected officials, especially conservatives, who gave it away. roughed up towards the end of the committee meeting.
MP Luc Berthold argued that the witness’s Liberal loyalty prevented the committee from getting to the bottom of things. “You are always going to take the Trudeau family side in your answers,” he told Edward Johnson, who notably served as executive assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau from 1980 to 1984, and senior executive of Power Corporation. .
“It is clear that you are currently protecting someone, something, he accused. But it is unthinkable, incomprehensible and, above all, unacceptable that you were not better prepared to come here. You knew you were going to be asked about the receipt. You knew we were going to ask you about the check. »
Edward Johnson had himself asked to appear before the committee considering this case. Tuesday’s meeting was supposed to last two hours, but it was cut short by about half as MPs were called back to the House twice to vote.