Former Governor General David Johnston has until May 23 to decide whether a public inquiry into foreign interference is necessary in the country, specifies his mandate as “special rapporteur” published on Tuesday.
“Mr. Johnston will recommend the establishment of any additional mechanisms or transparent processes that he deems necessary to strengthen the confidence of Canadians in the integrity of our democratic institutions, such as a formal public inquiry, by May 23 2023,” reads a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The government is giving its special rapporteur over five more months to complete his full review of Canada’s system for monitoring foreign interference in elections. He expects this exercise to end on October 31. Mr. Johnston will have to “assess the extent and consequences” of this foreign interference, will review the federal elections of 2019 and 2021, and may make recommendations.
The government expects him to submit periodic reports to the prime minister, which will then be shared with opposition leaders and the public. It is specified that the rapporteur will have “full access to all relevant files and documents, whether classified or not. He will have to work with the various intelligence institutions of the country.
The Canadian government announced earlier this month the creation of an “independent special rapporteur” to advise it on the issue of foreign interference in Canada. He then chose David Johnston to fill this function, while specifying that his mandate would be detailed later.
The announcement raised an outcry from opposition parties in Ottawa, who are instead calling for a public inquiry. In addition, the official opposition demanded the appearance of Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, before a parliamentary committee. The vote on a non-binding Conservative motion on the matter is due on Tuesday.
Katie Telford will appear
After opposing it for weeks and slowing down the work of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, the Liberal government backtracked on Tuesday. The Prime Minister now accepts that his close collaborator be heard on the question of foreign interference, his office announced.
“Although there are serious constraints on what can be said in public on sensitive intelligence matters, in an effort to make Parliament work Ms Telford has agreed to appear before the Committee on Procedure and the House as part of its study,” read a statement.
The Leader of the Government in the House, Mark Holland, had however started his day on Tuesday by accusing the opposition of making “a fixation” on the presence of Ms. Telford, which he said is an excess of partisanship. He clarified that the Conservative motion on this issue would not be subject to a vote of confidence in the House.