Special rapporteur Johnston rejects call to 'step aside' after majority of MPs vote for him to resign
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to "step aside," a call Johnston quickly rejected.
Opposition MPs teamed up to pass an NDP motion calling for Johnston to remove himself from the role as rapporteur over recommending against a public inquiry, and in light of the "serious questions" raised about his mandate and conclusions.
The motion—passed by a vote of 174 to 150— also revives a call for the federal government to "urgently establish" a public inquiry, with specific parameters around what the inquiry would look like, from the scope spanning all foreign states and how the person helming it should be chosen, to the timeline for completion.
While a symbolic move, as the motion is non-binding and Johnston remains on the job, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday he hopes it sends a message to Trudeau that Johnston no longer has the confidence of the House of Commons to continue with his plans to hold public hearings and dig further into the inter-governmental intelligence-sharing gaps.
"There's really no reason now to continue with Mr. Johnston when it has become very clear—this is nothing personal about Mr. Johnston or his credibility—but the appearance of bias is too strong that it undermines the work that the prime minister hoped that Mr. Johnston would be able to do," Singh said.
While the NDP leader said he thinks the "honourable" thing for the former governor general to do would be to respect the will of the majority of MPs and step away from his role, Johnston made it clear Wednesday afternoon that he has no plans to stop investigating allegations of Chinese government interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections and the adequacy of the existing safeguards.
"When I accepted the mandate to act as Independent Special Rapporteur, I did so with full knowledge of the fact that the work ahead would be neither straightforward nor uncontroversial," Johnston said in a statement. "I have delivered on the first part of my mandate with the report presented last week... That said, as I have indicated, there is much work yet to be done and a further public process is required."
Johnston said 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."
"My mandate is only one part of the array of work that can be undertaken, and I welcome the contribution of others," Johnston said.
"Trudeau doesn't actually value Parliament, doesn't actually believe in our democratic institutions, and doesn't care whose reputation he destroys in his quest to cling to power and to keep the truth hidden on this," said Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer, when asked before Johnston's statement was issued what it would signal if he didn't respect the House asking him to step down.
"This whole thing was a conflict of interest from the get go," Scheer said.
Since the motion was first put on the agenda on Monday, debate over Johnston's impartiality—given his past personal and professional ties to the prime minister's family and a foundation bearing the Trudeau name—has been front and centre in the House of Commons.
The Liberals—who were united in voting against the motion without it being a whipped vote—have consistently defended Johnston as someone previously tapped by Conservatives for key independent roles, and voiced confidence in his continued work. They chalk the attacks he's facing up to little more than the opposition parties playing "partisan games" with a serious issue.
Bolstering this argument, the Liberals say, is the continued refusal from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet to seek security clearances in order to read the confidential annex of Johnston's report that shed light on the intelligence underpinning his findings.
This resistance, from Poilievre's perspective, is that he would be forced to "take an oath of silence" if he took Trudeau up on his offer.
He is of the view that it would stop him from being able to challenge the government's handling of the file, despite that being something he is free to do now based on publicly available information, even after seeing his predecessor Erin O'Toole speak at length in the House after receiving a briefing from CSIS about being targeted.
"There is absolutely no question that China, Russia and other actors are attempting to influence our democracy... To judge the conclusions of Mr. Johnston without even looking at the information is, in my opinion, premature and political in nature," said Government House Leader Mark Holland on Wednesday.
Trudeau continues to refuse to entertain the opposition's unrelenting demands for an inquiry, saying that the reason that back in March he chose an "unimpeachable man" to make the decision was to "remove it from the political realm."
"The current leadership across our intelligence agencies and across the public service continue to say that the best way to move forward on this is not with a public inquiry that would have to happen behind closed doors," Trudeau said.
While the NDP spearheaded this move, the Conservatives continue to press on Singh to show how serious they are about a public inquiry by making it a condition of his continued supply-and-confidence deal propping-up the minority Liberals.
However, Singh has made it clear that he doesn't intend to pull his support and thrust the country into an early election at a time when questions continue to swirl around the resiliency of Canada's democratic institutions. His view is that Trudeau "enabling" Poilievre's politicking "every day that he passes on a public inquiry."
As a result of the motion passing, the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) which has led the parliamentary study into foreign election interference, has been instructed to report to the House with a recommendation on who could lead this inquiry, and what the terms of reference should be.
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
BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
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.