(Ottawa) Is the possibility of a public inquiry into foreign interference evaporating? Justin Trudeau seemed to change his tone on Wednesday when asked if an announcement was to be expected.
It has been more than two weeks since the parties began talks on this subject. The negotiations, which Minister Dominic LeBlanc is leading on the government side, are taking place behind closed doors, and little information is leaking out.
According to the most recent echoes, the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois had no dissatisfaction to communicate. And since the House of Commons adjourned for the summer season, there has been frequent talk of the imminent intervention of an agreement.
However, on Wednesday, Justin Trudeau seemed to send a discordant signal. “I hope so,” replied the Prime Minister when a journalist asked him if an announcement was to be expected in the coming weeks.
And after insisting last week on the need to obtain a consensus between all parties before kicking off any form of public process, this time he clearly alluded to a conservative blockage.
We could not make serious progress if the Conservative Party still refuses to participate or to accept the process we are putting forward. We are having very good conversations with the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, we are moving towards a consensus.
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada at a press briefing in Saint-Hyacinthe
“But for the moment, it is the conservatives who continue to block the process,” he continued.
“So I hope to be able to announce the next steps soon, but it depends on establishing a consensus on the way forward for everyone, because otherwise we have seen that the Conservatives just want to destroy everything. […] and they will have to choose if they will continue to block, ”concluded the Prime Minister.
All opposition parties in Ottawa have been calling for a public inquiry for several weeks. The government had tried to calm things down by giving former Governor General David Johnston the mandate to make recommendations on the way forward, but it was a failure.