(Ottawa) The House of Commons formally asks David Johnston to step down as special rapporteur on foreign interference.
Opposition parties joined forces to pass by a vote of 174 to 150 an NDP-sponsored motion demanding Mr Johnson’s departure. The motion, opposed by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, also calls for a full public inquiry into foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
This vote came after a particularly heated question period in which foreign interference was again the dominant topic.
The mandate of Mr. Johnston, which in principle should end in October after holding public hearings during the summer, is therefore plunged into uncertainty. By adopting the NDP motion, the House of Commons essentially expressed a vote of no confidence in the former Governor General of Canada on this delicate issue.
“I have a duty to continue this work until the end of my mandate”.
In a statement sent to The Pressthe special rapporteur has indicated that he intends to continue his work in spite of everything.
“When I accepted the mandate of Independent Special Rapporteur, I did so with full knowledge that the work ahead of me would be neither straightforward nor uncontroversial. These are delicate and important issues that must be treated with due seriousness,” he said.
“There is no doubt that foreign governments are trying to influence candidates and voters in Canada, and I have identified serious flaws in the way intelligence is shared and handled by government security agencies. That said, as I have indicated, much remains to be done and further public process is needed to identify the specific reforms that are needed to preserve the integrity of our democratic institutions. »
“I deeply respect the right of the House of Commons to express its opinion on my upcoming work, but my mandate comes from the government. I have a duty to continue this work until the end of my mandate,” he added.
Last week, Mr. Johnston published a first report on foreign interference in which he recommended, among other things, that the Trudeau government not hold an independent public inquiry into Chinese interference, as the Conservative Party is crying out for. the Bloc Québécois and the NDP for several weeks.
Mr. Johnston said a public inquiry would not be helpful because its work would essentially have to take place in secret due to the sensitive nature of national security information.
His report, which caused a stir because it dismissed the idea of a public inquiry, was accepted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In recent days, Mr. Trudeau has come to the defense of Mr. Johnston, accusing opposition parties that question his integrity of descending into partisan attacks.
“We can clearly see that political parties are trying to score political points on this issue,” said the Prime Minister on Wednesday morning before the weekly meeting of the Liberal caucus.
“But the fact is that David Johnston has served this country in extraordinary capacities for decades. He was repeatedly chosen for the most important positions by Stephen Harper himself. He is a man who, as the report shows, took this incredibly seriously and gathered all the necessary information. »
The Prime Minister recalled that he offered the leaders of other political parties the opportunity to examine the secret documents to which Mr. Johnston had access so that they could draw their own conclusions.
But Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet rejected the offer on the grounds that they would be required to keep any information they had access to secret. According to them, this is a way of “silence” them on an issue as important as foreign interference.
“What we are seeing, particularly the approach chosen by Mr. Poilievre and in a way Mr. Blanchet, makes the situation extremely toxic. And that would make her toxic, whoever we chose. There is a desire not to take the issue of foreign interference seriously, which is evident by the fact that they do not even want to be given the information,” said Mr. Trudeau.
He did not want to say what he intends to do if the House of Commons adopts the NDP motion.
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet reacted by accusing the Prime Minister of putting “democracy at risk” by ruling out a public inquiry.
“What must be tolerated in a stupid or complicit way – espionage, intimidation, illegal electoral financing, the Trudeau Foundation, secrecy… – in order not to be “toxic” while Justin Trudeau, himself, jeopardizes democracy and open information? what does she order? “, he wrote on his Twitter account.
For his part, Justice Minister David Lametti said he found the Conservative Party’s personal attacks on David Johnston “disgusting”.
“We are destroying the good reputations of people who have given a lot to the country. It also happened to committees. We now even have a problem with witnesses who no longer want to come to committees precisely to study our bills,” said Minister Lametti.
“David Johnston is a person who has given a lot to Canada. He was appointed by the Conservatives, by our party for very important tasks throughout his career. He also had a career as an academic. He was a colleague at McGill. And so, I have a lot, a lot of respect for him, and it’s really a shame the attacks. It’s disgusting, I have to say,” he added.