(OTTAWA) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that the planning and consultation undertaken by his minister Dominic LeBlanc on the next step in the foreign interference file, and possibly a commission of inquiry, should be concluded “quickly “.
Asked whether he gave the minister a deadline to finish his work so that a decision could be made, Mr. Trudeau began his answer with a “yes”.
“We expect it to be done quickly. I know that Canadians are concerned about foreign interference, ”he immediately added, in a press scrum at the Bagotville military base, in Saguenay.
Its Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. LeBlanc, has been repeating since he reached out to the opposition parties last weekend that “all options” are on the table. This includes the possibility of a public and independent inquiry demanded in unison by the Conservatives, New Democrats and Bloc Québécois.
Since then, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has met with Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet, who disclosed correspondence sent to Mr. LeBlanc in which he mentions, “by way of example”, the names of people with “the stature to carry out » such a commission, like former judges Louise Arbor and Louise Otis.
Mr. Blanchet’s suggestions were described Tuesday as “reasonable” and “interesting” by MM. Trudeau and LeBlanc, but the minister did not want to say Wednesday morning when he expected to have met with all the leaders of the opposition parties.
“You have to assume that, (by) the end of the next few days, I will have spoken to the leaders of the political parties, that I may have calls (scheduled) myself today”, he said as he walked to the weekly Liberal caucus meeting.
Mr. Blanchet indicated that he had received a response from Mr. LeBlanc to his correspondence and that the latter offered him a telephone discussion. The Bloc leader intends to request a meeting in person.
As for Mr. Poilievre, he is continuing his round of conversations and has planned a call Wednesday evening with the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Jagmeet Singh, the two party leaders confirmed.
Mr. LeBlanc recalled that his work involved discussions with “lawyers, retired judges (and) academics who have experience in this field”.
Asked if he himself had a deadline in mind, he reiterated that, “in a perfect scenario”, more details could be given on the steps to come “by the end of next week”.
The House of Commons must then adjourn for the summer. The Bloc Québécois is asking that the long-awaited commission of inquiry be set up by then, and the New Democrats and Conservatives are also advocating urgency.
Mr. LeBlanc pointed out on Wednesday that the discussions also concern the “terms of reference” or mandate for a possible public inquiry and that, even if there is agreement on one or more commissioners to preside over the whole thing, the work would not be not finished.
“If ultimately, we arrive at a person or persons, it would also be normal to ask them to participate in the development of the terms of reference, the schedule. So we try to put it all together on a coherent basis, ”he concluded.