… Sorry, but the perception prevails of them as neighbourly chums in the Laurentian Elite backed by evidence suggesting due diligence was deliberately lacking as he put together his report.
For example, Johnston didn’t reach out to former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole until last week. This was the former leader most vocal about Chinese electoral interference, yet Johnston’s report was already on its way to the printers for translation, by the time an O’Toole interview was booked.
Johnston also took great pains to probe and question the accuracy of news reports yet failed to examine the Trudeau Foundation’s role in the controversy after it received substantial money from Chinese benefactors looking to buy friends in high places.
And his conclusion that senior Liberals didn’t know about Chinese efforts to help elect a Liberal minority mandate was based on merely asking the prime minister if that was the case. Not surprisingly, Trudeau said it wasn’t.
