NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh believes Special Rapporteur David Johnston is not the right person to lead the foreign interference inquiry due to a ‘clear appearance of bias’ and is calling for his removal from the assignment he was given. was entrusted by Justin Trudeau.
• Read also: Foreign interference: Politician named in leaks sues CSIS and media
• Read also: Here are eight examples of the very close ties between Special Rapporteur David Johnston, China and Justin Trudeau
“I have never attacked Mr. Johnston personally, and I stand by that position, but it is clear that there is an appearance of bias and we cannot continue with Mr. Johnston,” Mr. Singh told the Parliament on Monday.
When he filed his report last week, David Johnston denied having any intimate friendship with Justin Trudeau despite ties with the Trudeau family dating back to the 1970s. Mr. Johnston was also a member of the Trudeau Foundation until when the organization broke up earlier this year.
To support his position, Jagmeet Singh put on the table the political allegiance of the one David Johnston has chosen as his main adviser for the duration of his mandate as special rapporteur, Sheila R. Block.
A career lawyer based in Toronto, Ms. Block has donated more than $7,500 to the Liberal Party of Canada between 2006 and 2022, the independent organization Democracy Watch, which specializes in ethics in the federal government, reported last week.
Despite a text in the “Globe & Mail” to respond to his critics, the opposition parties do not budge and accuse the special rapporteur of “working with” the liberals in order to “hide” the truth about the foreign interference.
Like the Conservative Party and the Bloc Québécois, the New Democrat leader again and again calls for a public inquiry, “the only way to restore confidence in our electoral system”.
Another elected official targeted by China
During Jagmeet Singh’s press briefing, his colleague Jenny Kwan revealed that she received briefings from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for reasons similar to those of Michael Chong.
“The SRCS has confirmed to me that I am the target of foreign interference and that I will continue to be,” said the elected representative of Chinese descent.
In question: his “activism” in favor of “basic human rights” for the Uyghurs, a minority victim of “genocide”, as well as his opposition to the repression of freedom of expression in Hong Kong.
“Coming out of this briefing, it’s clearer than ever to me that I won’t be intimidated, that I won’t be silenced in any way.”