The Bloc Québécois is calling for the revocation of the mandate of special rapporteur on foreign interference given to former Governor General David Johnston.
The leader of the party, Yves-François Blanchet, made the announcement on Monday, insisting, once again, on his call for the immediate triggering of a public and independent commission of inquiry, as also demanded by the Conservatives and New Democrats. .
In his view, Mr. Johnston’s independence is “uncertain at best given his closeness to both the Prime Minister’s family […] than with the regime of the People’s Republic of China”.
Justin Trudeau’s Liberals probably do not intend to dismiss Mr. Johnston from his new position since they have defended, throughout their speeches in the House, the choice of this “eminent Canadian”. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has repeatedly pointed out that he was appointed Governor General in 2010 by former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
His colleague Dominic LeBlanc, intergovernmental affairs, praised the track record of whoever will assume the role of special rapporteur. ” [Il] will work independently to prepare recommendations, to look at all the measures we have implemented as a government and to make suggestions on what we can continue to improve,” he said during question period.
The government is committed to respecting the recommendations that will be made by Mr. Johnston and which could include that of a commission of inquiry. But all the opposition parties are asking for such an investigation to be launched now, without having to wait for a potential green light from the special rapporteur.
New Democratic Party (NDP) House Leader Peter Julian said his party will bring a motion to the floor of the House of Commons on Tuesday calling for the commission. Earlier this month, a similar request was endorsed in committee by the opposition parties, but that does not compel the Trudeau government to comply.
The need for a public inquiry is also highlighted, in the eyes of Mr. Blanchet, by an open letter from an employee of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) published over the weekend in the pages of the “Globe and Mail”. The latter explains that he made the difficult and risky choice to speak to the media about the interference efforts led by Beijing since he was worried about the government’s inaction in the face of a growing threat.
“So that, in an intelligence service whose culture [et] DNA is one of secrecy, someone decides to break the secret […]he must consider it extremely serious or he must be extremely disgusted only after more than 20 years of intervention [et] warnings, no Canadian Prime Minister has taken this seriously to date and has taken action,” said the Bloc leader.
On Monday, the Conservatives also launched a new attempt to have the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, testify in committee on allegations of Chinese interference in the last two federal elections.
Pierre Poilievre’s team used their opposition day to force a debate on a motion to this effect.
The Conservatives want Ms Telford to be subpoenaed to appear for three hours before the House of Commons Ethics Committee. They have been trying for weeks to pass a similar motion before another committee, that of procedure, but the Liberals there have prevented a vote from taking place by talking for long hours.
“What knows [Mme Telford] that the Prime Minister wants to hide from Canadians? “said Conservative MP Michael Cooper.
The elected official and his colleagues continually turned the spotlight on the NDP throughout the day on Monday, calling on the political party to help them “get the answers Canadians deserve” rather than “support a corrupt government” .
The vote on the Conservative motion is due to take place on Tuesday afternoon. Support from the Bloc is assured, but the New Democrats have remained unclear, so far, on how they will vote.
During the debate on the motion, they insisted on the fact that they would like parliamentarians to also examine the attempts at interference carried out by other countries, such as Russia and Iran.
“We are concerned that we are just focusing on the Chinese state. Yes, there are very, very serious allegations, but that means that it stigmatizes Quebecers and Canadians who are Chinese nationals a little bit, ”argued the deputy leader of the NDP, Alexandre Boulerice.
The NDP’s choice could become more complex if the Liberals decide to designate the vote as a matter of confidence in the government.
Under their agreement with Justin Trudeau’s troops, the New Democrats have promised to support the government “on matters of confidence and budget”.
Asked to clarify whether the vote would be one of confidence, Liberal House Leader Mark Holland suggested it was too early to tell, saying there were “discussions going on right now” and a “dialogue”.