Opposition parties pan Trudeau pledges, still pushing for foreign interference inquiry

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre points to take a question from another journalist during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Monday, March 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's multi-pronged pledge to dig into allegations of foreign interference in Canada, but not immediately strike an inquiry, has failed to quell opposition-led calls for a public review.

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill on Tuesday morning, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre panned PM Trudeau's offerings as little more than efforts to "cover up" and keep secret a process he thinks should be open and not led by anyone appointed solely by the Liberals.

On Monday night, under pressure to address Canadians' concerns of election meddling by China during the last two federal campaigns, Trudeau unveiled a suite of new measures he said were aimed at taking "responsible steps" to provide a more fulsome understanding of how foreign governments have tried to interfere, and affirm confidence in Canadian institutions, without jeopardizing national security.

"We're not going to remove ourselves from any of these reviews, but we're going to continue to demand an independent and open public investigation," said the Official Opposition leader.

As part of the package, Trudeau announced that he's tasked two federal oversight bodies — one comprised of parliamentarians and the other comprised of civil society experts and former public servants — to take a examine and report back to Parliament on the issue of foreign meddling in Canadian elections, as well as the intelligence community's capacity to counter such attempts.

He's also pledged to appoint an "independent special rapporteur" to assess the available information, overall national security landscape, years of recommendations from a swath of existing panels and past studies, and provide advice to his government on what next steps are merited. This yet-to-be-named official would also advise on combatting interference and strengthening Canada's democracy.

"The independent special rapporteur will make public recommendations, which could include a formal inquiry, or some other independent review process," Trudeau said Monday. "We will abide by their recommendation."

RAPPORTEUR TO BE NAMED WITHIN 'WEEKS'

However, opposition party leaders are questioning the independence of the coming appointee.

"He could pick someone independent but he won't," said Poilievre. "He'll pick another Liberal establishment insider, a real Ottawa insider with some grey hair, who looks like a reasonable fellow, but we all know that it will be someone tied to him, tied to the Liberals, here to protect the Liberal establishment."

This sentiment was echoed by Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, who told reporters Tuesday that he thinks a public inquiry is necessary, and also believes a new rapporteur should be selected by all parties.

"Our position doesn't change regardless of the name given to the person he'll designate," Blanchet said in French, calling for Parliament to pick the person who is appointed.

Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday that he's willing to consult the opposition parties on deciding which "eminent Canadian" takes on this new role.

"We will of course be open to suggestions that the various parties put forward for names for this independent special rapporteur," said the prime minister during a joint availability with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"And, we will ensure that whoever is chosen is someone who both has the capacity to ensure that we're doing all the right things to fight interference and has the capacity to give all Canadians confidence in the openness, transparency and rigour of that process."

He also made a point of calling out Poilievre's rhetoric during the controversy—on Tuesday he alleged the prime minister was "acting against Canada's interest and in favour of a foreign dictatorship's interest"—as weakening Canadians' confidence in democracy by making such claims.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday that the federal government will be looking to appoint the rapporteur in short order.

"We're talking about weeks, not months. These are conversations that are ongoing between my office and the Prime Minister's Office, and the government. And we want to make sure that that individual is named as quickly as possible," Mendicino said.

HOUSE COMMITTEE DEBATES CALLING TOP STAFFERS 

Meanwhile, at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC), Conservative MP Michael Cooper revived his call for Trudeau's chief of staff Katie Telford to provide three hours of sworn testimony as part of a further-expanded parliamentary committee study into foreign interference the Conservatives want to see kept up while other probes get underway.

"What is at the heart of the issue is what the prime minister knows? When he first knew about it? And what he did or failed to do about Beijing's election interference. In order to get to the bottom of that, it's imperative that we hear from the prime minister's top aide," Cooper said during Tuesday’s meeting.

PROC's study was sparked by now-under-investigation leaks from intelligence officials to The Globe and Mail and Global News, alleging specific efforts from China to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

During the PROC meeting Tuesday, NDP MP Rachel Blaney suggested Cooper's motion be amended to also summon the national Liberal and Conservative campaign directors from the last two elections. Blaney emphasized, though, that the NDP believes a public inquiry would be best — as PROC previously voted for.

"Unfortunately, we're put in a situation where there are so many leaks that we have to do something. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be bringing staff in. But we must take action. We cannot sit here and not take action when Canadians are saying to us very clearly: 'we don't believe these systems are strong enough, we don't believe the government is being transparent, we want action and we want answers,'" Blaney said.

Countering the opposition proposals to expand PROC's work, Liberal MPs took turns voicing their opposition to calling staffers to testify, and proposing changes to pair-down the motion.

Liberal MP Greg Fergus suggested opposition MPs were playing political procedural games and trying to import a U.S.-style committee structure to "bully… intimidate… and humiliate" political opponents.

"As long as we're going to play partisan games with national security, I'm going to fight really, really hard to make sure that mature, responsible, and reasonable decisions are made, instead of reckless, irresponsible partisan games with something that is so incredibly important and has such serious consequences if handled incorrectly," said Liberal MP Jennifer O'Connell.

PROC Chair and Liberal MP Bardish Chagger confirmed during Tuesday's meeting that the report from the committee formalizing their call for the federal government to launch a national public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference, will be presented to the House on Wednesday.

While this report stating briefly the committee's request is non-binding, it could open up further debate in the House on the issue tomorrow.