Tom Mulcair: David Johnston should leave graciously while he still can
Last Thursday the NDP gave notice of an opposition motion that will be debated today and voted upon later this week.
That motion calls on David Johnston to step aside from his role as Special Rapporteur, and would require the government to urgently establish a public commission of inquiry. Crucially, it also states that the inquiry would be led by an individual selected with unanimous support from all recognized parties in the House,
It is rare for an opposition motion to have this much importance.
The issue that was supposed to be at the heart of Johnston’s botched report was the defence of our democratic institutions. This motion would put that back, front and centre.
As if it weren’t sad enough to see the magnificent career of an outstanding public servant end in a tailspin, Johnston appears to have decided to dig in.
'I WILL NOT BE DISSUADED'
Within 24 hours of the publication of the opposition motion, Johnston wrote an opinion piece in The Globe and Mail.
In that article Johnston rehashed large chunks of the foggy reasoning of his report. Then he said this:
“While I identified serious shortcomings in the way we respond to foreign interference, the work is not done. And I will not be dissuaded from completing it. That is the job I undertook, and I feel obligated to complete it to the highest possible standard. Then I will leave it to Canadians to judge this contribution to safeguarding our democracy.”
In the context of his mandate that was supposed to be all about defending Canadian democracy, it is no small irony Johnston appears to believe that he’s more important than the will of the elected members of Parliament.
When Johnston was first named, some opposed his appointment because of his friendship with the Trudeau family. I know Johnston well and have always respected him. I thought that many of these criticisms were petty and indeed puerile. I was convinced Johnston would do the same type of high level work he’d once done for Stephen Harper who needed advice on how to investigate the past dealings of Brian Mulroney.
Johnston had famously said that the Airbus part of the Mulroney affair was “well-tilled soil”. That upset many journalists, commentators and ordinary Canadians who’d wanted to know the truth about that entire matter. The Oliphant Commission was established and, while finding fault with Mulroney, it had to stay clear of that explosive part of the file. No doubt impressed with his skills, Harper later named Johnston governor general.
It therefore came as no surprise that Justin Trudeau would call upon those same skills to help him get through the biggest scandal of his nearly eight years as prime minister. It was a call that I applauded, knowing Johnston as I do.
Then all hell broke loose at the Pierre Trudeau Foundation, where Johnston held a key role right up until his appointment as Special Rapporteur.
There had clearly been an attempt to gain influence, through that foundation, by donations from frontmen for the Chinese Communist Party. The president and CEO, along with several Board members, resigned when those who’d been present at the time refused to withdraw from discussions.
When it became clear that he was going to have to look at the goings-on at the Foundation, Johnston had only one thing to do, resign as Special Rapporteur. It’s a basic rule of natural justice that you can’t be a judge in your own case. Johnston once taught law. It’s a rule he knows perfectly well.
Instead of resigning, of course, Johnston persisted and signed.
His press conference was abysmal. He turned regularly to the lawyer who accompanied him. It turns out that she was a long-time donor to the Liberal party. That’s something he should’ve checked but apparently didn’t or, if he did, it didn’t click that this would cause a further perception that the fix was in.
The report was so weak as to be almost laughable. Just too secret for Johnston to discuss in any detail but it turns out that he also had a whole team from that lawyer’s firm working with him on the report. What they got to see was no doubt more than what MPs were allowed to look at.
Johnston pleaded his professional credentials as a lawyer when asked if a judge shouldn’t have done this work. But one of the first things a judge would do is put any witnesses under oath. That apparently never happened here.
Instead, we have the vague and totally inadequate statement that the good people who all work for Trudeau said they’d turned everything over. Really?
And, the real kicker, Johnston had not found any cases of Trudeau or his ministers failing to act. One can just imagine the scene, Johnston asking Trudeau’s Chief of staff Katie Telford if Trudeau ever failed to act (on Michael Chong? On Erin O’Toole?…). Of course he found nothing.
Johnston’s public hearings are mostly meaningless attempts to substitute for a real inquiry. He would have Canadians follow him as he roots out alleged failures of the intelligence sharing rulebook in Ottawa. It’s a mighty distraction that will lead nowhere.
Johnston envisions himself hearing from diaspora communities and sharing his experience and pearls of wisdom. More window dressing intended to substitute for a real inquiry.
CANADA, JOHNSTON AND CHINA
A Montreal newspaper which I write for ran a picture last weekend of one of Johnston’s meetings with President Xi. In that picture, I’m seen sitting there with Johnston as he’d invited me on that official visit after I left the NDP leadership.
I learned a lot about Johnston, about diplomacy and about China during the trip. On the night of our official dinner with Xi and senior officials, the Chinese president left the table unexpectedly during the meal. He later returned and I thought nothing of it until we left and none of our electronics worked any more.
It turns out that Liu Xiaobo, the long imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Chinese human rights activist had just died. He had fought to end communist one party rule in China. He had succumbed to cancer.
Why our electronics were targeted remains unclear. We spoke amongst ourselves but never really had a full opportunity to debrief. We surmised that there was official concern about reaction against the death of someone who had supported the Tiananmen Square protests. Johnston’s strong personal and family relations with China and the Chinese regime did not appear dampened by these events. For me it was a wake-up call.
TRUDEAU AND CHINA
Trudeau tried and failed to begin negotiations for a free trade deal with China. On his second trip, Canadian journalists were roughed-up by Chinese security and the whole thing turned into a debacle.
Trudeau is not alone in believing you can have a normal business relationship with China. Harper penned a Foreign Investor Protection Agreement with Beijing that should never have been signed.
Canadian companies such as now-bankrupt tech giant Nortel have known what it’s like to have their secrets stolen and shipped off to China, where companies like Huawei were then free to profit from them. That naïveté is, fortunately, becoming a thing of the past.
Canada is right to want to have reciprocity with China. Our economies are in many respects complementary and enhanced trade can be beneficial to both of our countries. But reciprocity in trade demands reciprocal respect.
Some of our closest allies: the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom have formed an alliance that markedly excludes us even though we are an important Pacific power. It should be a warning to all Canadians that those close friends don’t see us as being trustworthy when it comes to dealing with China.
It is time to reset our relationship with this important world power. The naive obsequiousness of the past can no longer be our guide.
As for Johnston, if indeed a majority of the House of Commons says he has to step down, he’ll have no choice but he shouldn’t wait to be shoved. He should leave graciously while he still can.
Tom Mulcair was the leader of the federal New Democratic Party of Canada between 2012 and 2017
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
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
Local Spotlight
'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.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.