Johnston's mandate as special rapporteur on foreign interference has been released

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has released foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston's mandate, which instructs the former governor general to determine by May 23 whether a public inquiry is necessary.

However, Johnston will have months more to dig into the broader issue of shoring up Canada's democracy.

"Mr. Johnston is to recommend any additional mechanisms or transparent processes, such as a formal public inquiry, he deems necessary to reinforce Canadians’ confidence in the integrity of our democratic institutions by May 23, 2023," said the Prime Minister's Office in a statement outlining the details of this new job.

As the independent rapporteur on the matter, Johnston is also being asked to:

• Assess the "extent and impact of foreign interference" in Canada’s elections, including examining information related to the 2019 and 2021 federal elections "to determine what the government did to defend Canada against electoral interference."
• Build on the work of a pair of national security review bodies -- the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) and the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) -- to "identify any outstanding issues requiring attention."
• And, "identify innovative approaches and improvements in the way public agencies work together to combat foreign interference in our electoral processes."

The entirety of this work is to be completed by Oct. 31, 2023. This move comes as part of a suite of measures Trudeau pledged earlier this month in an effort to assuage Canadians' concerns about China's interference in the last two federal elections.

Johnston has been informed that he has to submit regular reports to the prime minister, and then Trudeau will share these reports with the leaders of the opposition and the Canadian public.

"To fulfill this mandate, he will be given complete access to any relevant records and documents, classified or unclassified," said the PMO.

"He will consult and work with institutions, agencies, and officials across the federal government – including the Communications Security Establishment, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Privy Council Office, and Elections Canada – as well as political parties represented in the House of Commons."

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Trudeau had signalled that the terms of reference for this appointment would be coming today, pointing to it as a contrast to the "political circus" he thinks the Conservatives are leading the charge on in the House of Commons.

"I'm actually pleased to contrast the approach that we've taken… People will see that there is an expert process that will dig into this in a non-partisan way," said the prime minister.

Trudeau tapping Johnston became highly politicized by the Conservative and Bloc Quebecois parties, who were quick to question Johnston’s impartiality and potential conflict of interest given his connections to the Trudeau family and foundation. The NDP continue to push for a public inquiry, and had expressed hope that Johnston's recommendation in this regard would be issued in short order.

Amid the flurry of partisan fury over his appointment, Johnston issued a statement late last week saying he was "privileged to accept the appointment" and was working on finalizing his mandate with government officials.

"Any attempts at undermining our democracy are serious matters and it is essential that we take action to protect our institutions and uphold Canadians’ confidence in our democracy," Johnston said.