Johnston to launch foreign interference hearings in July, calls allegations of bias 'quite simply false'
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity "quite simply false," and says he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month.
Questioned by MPs at committee on Tuesday about his role, his report into election meddling, his decision against a public inquiry, and allegations of a conflict of interest, Johnston said MPs' decision to repeat their attacks on his credibility "does not make them true."
"The issue of foreign interference deserves serious and robust debate. I will continue to invite disagreement on my recommendations, but will not be deterred from completing my work," Johnston said in his opening remarks.
Appearing before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee — which has been taking the parliamentary lead in probing allegations of attempts by China to interfere in Canadian political affairs — Johnston was in the hot seat for three hours.
On his way in to the meeting room, Johnston told reporters he was anxious to speak about his work in order to be able to get on with the job, going on to tell MPs that he plans to start public hearings in July.
"Beginning next month, I will hold public hearings," Johnston said in French, speaking about his plans for the five months left in his mandate.
"For this work, I will be supported by three special advisers with expertise in national security, intelligence, law, and diaspora community matters," Johnston said. "Together, we will develop recommendations on the urgent changes necessary to protect Canada's democratic institutions and crucially, Canadians' faith in these institutions."
While Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre scrummed outside of the hearing room ahead of Johnston's testimony, he did not stay to question him, leaving that to his MPs on the committee.
During the hearing, the Official Opposition's questions started with a heavy focus on Johnston's past, his close family connection to the Trudeau family, his past membership status with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation that's faced scrutiny over a China-linked donation, and the past Liberal donations from the council he retained to support his work.
"I do not see a conflict," he said, also defending Toronto lawyer Sheila Block as someone who served him "faithfully" and produced "quality" work when Johnston was tapped by former prime minister Stephen Harper to take on a public inquiry into the Airbus affair in 2007.
"But that said, the conclusions in the report are mine. Whatever lawyers in practice or others do with respect to contributions to political campaigns, these are all on public record and well understood," Johnston said.
This questioning prompted Liberal MP Jennifer O'Connell to note that the Conservatives had 15 minutes worth of questions to the rapporteur they were so eager to have come to committee, and spent them not asking about the core issue of foreign interference.
Similar remarks were been made by other Liberal MPs, who also used their time to read into the record some of Poilievre's past statements extolling Johnston's credibility, which are incongruent with his views now.
As the hearing progressed, more questions about specific instances of foreign meddling connected to the 2019 and 2021 federal elections were raised, and MPs Michael Chong and Jenny Kwan — who both have been informed by CSIS that they have been targeted by Beijing — took turns asking Johnston to shed more light on what he's learned.
MPs from various parties also pressed Johnston on why he feels his work will give Canadians any more confidence that the issue has been fully explored, and whether the federal government is being adequately held to account.
Johnston's answers often pointed to the parallel work being undertaken by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and the National Security and Intelligence Review Committee, noting that no one is being asked to solely "take me at my word."
"I'm anxious that we get to the real issue here, which is foreign interference… And let's move with urgency on dealing with a problem which is very, very serious and is affecting, not simply our national security, but our citizens in very direct and immediate and difficult ways," Johnston said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh decided to attend to question Johnston himself, and in the hearing he went down a line of inquiry focused on on the former governor general’s "appearance of bias" and what underpinned his assessment that neither the prime minister nor his ministers have "knowingly or negligently failing to act."
"My question is about the utter lack of curiosity of this government, that despite clear and credible evidence of foreign interference, that in your investigation, and no point in time, did the prime minister or ministers ever actively or proactively ask CSIS or other security agencies whether or not members of Parliament were being targeted? Was there never an attempt to proactively assess threats… Was there never any evidence of that curiosity?" Singh asked.
In response, Johnston said he thinks he was "quite critical of the shortcomings of the government, indicating that we have been slow to react, slow to anticipate in many instances, and those must be changed."
"I'm in complete agreement that we have not had the kind of curiosity and particularly the flow of information," Johnston said.
Asked by a Bloc Quebecois MP about why, given past precedents, he still views a public inquiry as unfeasible, Johnston restated the observations that he made last month. The former governor general said given the sensitive material and information that would "lie at the heart" of whether the federal government did enough to confront the claims of interference, cannot be aired publicly, an inquiry at this stage would "not advance the goals of transparency or trust any further."
However, in speaking about his coming public hearings, Johnston indicated that should there be relevant witnesses, whether intelligence officials or members of the public who want to participate in the hearings but fear implications for doing so publicly, he's prepared to hear testimony in-camera.
"I think it's quite possible, and very appropriate that in the public hearings one could have in-camera sessions," Johnston said.
On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued to echo what's now been months of Liberals coming to Johnston's defence.
"The approach that the opposition parties, particularly the Conservatives, have taken in terms of personal attacks, in terms of smearing David Johnston and his team are absolutely irresponsible and unserious. The issue of foreign interference is one that needs to be taken seriously and falling into baseless partisan attacks isn't worthy of the work that we need to do together as parliamentarians," said the prime minister.
HOW DID JOHNSTON GET HERE?
Trudeau appointed Johnston to the role in March, as part of a suite of measures responding to concerns the Liberal government failed to share information, or respond adequately to the threat of foreign interference in the last two federal elections.
From the outset of his appointment, the former governor general has faced consistent personal and partisan attacks from opposition parties, accusing him of bias despite a lengthy career of appointments to non-partisan roles by political leaders across the spectrum.
David Johnston, Independent Special Rapporteur on Foreign Interference, appears as a witness at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
In his interim report released May 23, while pointing to the real threat that foreign election interference poses and the need to address some serious intelligence gaps, Johnston recommended against a public inquiry, but announced plans of his own to conduct public hearings.
This prompted a new wave of fury, with the opposition calling it the latest example of how Johnston has a conflict of interest, an assertion Johnston repeatedly denied on Tuesday.
"I don't believe I have a conflict of interest and I would not have undertaken this responsibility, had I had a conflict of interest," he said.
Last week, the majority of MPs in the House of Commons passed an NDP motion calling for him to "step aside" as rapporteur, calling for Johnston to remove himself from the role as rapporteur given the "serious questions" raised.
In response, Johnston dismissed this call and made it clear he plans to stick around, saying that while he "deeply" respects the right of the House of Commons to "express its opinion about my work going forward" his mandate is from the government and he feels that he has a "duty to pursue that work until my mandate is completed."
Challenged Tuesday on his decision to dig in, Johnston said he believes the House vote was "based on allegations that were false, and that it would be wrong for me to simply to step aside and… let those allegations stand."
Then, it was revealed on Friday that Johnston hired public relations, lobbying and crisis management firm Navigator "to provide communications advice and support."
The questions about Navigator were few on Tuesday, and the hearing wrapped up without Johnston being asked how much the communications firm is being paid. Johnston said he is receiving "informal" advice from "a number" of others, but that guidance is coming free of charge.
Asked on Monday what he makes of Johnston tapping outside help to complete the job the government is paying for, Trudeau appeared to have no concerns.
"I'm not going to speak to decisions that the independent special rapporteur and his team are making to manage the toxic climate that they're operating in," Trudeau said.
IN DEPTH
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
'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.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
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.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
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.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
opinion Don Martin: The Trudeau lessons from Brian Mulroney's legacy start with walking away
Justin Trudeau should pay very close attention to the legacy treatment afforded former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who died on Thursday at age 84, writes columnist Don Martin.
opinion Don Martin: ArriveCan debacle may be even worse than we know from auditor's report
It's been 22 years since a former auditor general blasted the Chretien government after it 'broke just about every rule in the book' in handing out private sector contracts in the sponsorship scandal. In his column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says the book has been broken anew with everything that went on behind the scenes of the 'dreaded' ArriveCan app.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Local Spotlight
Conservation officers seize 9-foot python from Chilliwack home
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Ontario auto-insurance changes could leave some vulnerable, says expert
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
Ontario man loses $12K to deepfake scam involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
'I was just like, holy cow!': Saskatoon dumpster divers reclaim wasted valuables
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario to balance budget ahead of 2026 election, citing delay due to 'economic uncertainty'
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.