Call public inquiry first, then Conservatives will suggest who can lead it: Poilievre
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should make the first move and call a public inquiry before the Conservatives suggest people who could lead it, Pierre Poilievre says.
The Conservative leader penned a letter to Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc to, as Poilievre put it, "repeat my demands" after a phone call last week.
"As discussed," Poilievre wrote in the letter, "the prime minister must first agree to call an independent and public inquiry."
LeBlanc has been tasked with helping to devise a plan for what the next steps of the process to probe allegations of foreign meddling should look like.
That follows the high-profile and sudden departure of David Johnston, whom Trudeau had tasked with the job. The former governor general announced earlier this month he was resigning after finding the position untenable because of a highly partisan environment around the issue.
LeBlanc has said since that the government wants to hear from opposition leaders about what a public inquiry could look like, including who could lead such an endeavour and what its terms of reference might be.
The Bloc Quebecois recently submitted a list of names of who it could support doing the job, including retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, who recently investigated the Canadian Armed Forces' handling of sexual assault allegations.
But Poilievre is taking a different approach.
He said in his letter that the Conservatives are indeed willing to bring ideas forward -- but only once Trudeau commits to triggering a public inquiry.
"Once the prime minister does this, we will provide you with a shortlist of names to lead the inquiry and work with all opposition parties to ensure they are acceptable across all party lines," Poilievre wrote.
He added: "We will also submit a proposed mandate and terms of reference within 48 hours of the prime minister confirming there will be an independent and public inquiry."
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, whose portfolio includes responding to foreign interference, told reporters that LeBlanc has had constructive conversations with opposition leaders and said the government's focus is "is to come up with a consensus."
LeBlanc previously told reporters he hoped to be able to announce what the next stage of the pubic process would look like before MPs break for summer.
In a report released last month, Johnston recommended against the government calling an inquiry, saying it would not be possible to share national security secrets publicly.
He instead planned to hold a series of public hearing over the summer to hear from diaspora community leaders as well as government officials on the issue.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said that while he had not met with LeBlanc, the New Democrats' House leader had spoken with him and expressed that a public inquiry is needed.
"They're showing some openness to it," Singh told reporters Tuesday. "We want them to commit to it."
Singh said he wants the Liberal government to be clear on its position.
"Is this just an exercise to buy time by saying, 'Oh, we're open to it, we want to hear feedback,' and they were hoping to use the excuse that maybe the opposition parties weren't in agreement?" he posited.
"We don't want this to be just a (public relations) exercise. We actually want a public inquiry."
Singh also expressed such sentiments in a letter to LeBlanc last week.
All parties agree that the 2019 and 2021 federal election results were not compromised, but opposition MPs say a public inquiry on foreign meddling attempts is the only way for Canadians to feel confident in the electoral system.
Former governor general David Johnston had been named special rapporteur to probe foreign interference in Canada's democratic affairs, but he resigned earlier this month, citing a highly politicized atmosphere.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2023.
-- With files from Mickey Djuric, Mia Rabson and David Fraser.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
Local Spotlight
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.