Terry Glavin: Justin Trudeau benefits the most from years-long public inquiry

So, David Johnston, the former governor-general, longtime Trudeau family friend and lifelong champion of deep political, institutional and economic collaboration between Canada and China has finally conceded what everybody already knew, which is that he cannot be trusted to shed any useful light on clandestine efforts to keep that catastrophic collaboration on life support.

To get a handle on what happens next in the Trudeau government’s ongoing, puck-ragging refusal to come clean about what it knew, when it knew and what it did about Beijing’s well-documented interference on the Liberals’ behalf in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, it is necessary to remember why we’re at this clown-show juncture in the first place, exactly, and how we got here.

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Rex Murphy: Get ready for Trudeau’s next scandal burying tactic

Well, that’s the end of one big useless distracting storm.

The only accomplishment of Mr. Trudeau’s sly attempt to shed his responsibility as Prime Minister and load it onto the back of someone else is to have dug more than a few extra feet to the already deep sour well of Canadians’ cynicism about crony politics.

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What’s next for the foreign interference probe? LeBlanc says all options on the table

All options are on the table for determining “next steps” following the news that former governor general David Johnston is resigning as special rapporteur, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a press conference Saturday.

The government will be consulting judicial experts and opposition leaders to decide what to do next, including who could be best to lead the rest of Johnston’s work or even who might lead a public inquiry, what the terms of reference would be and how one would respect classified information.

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Justin Trudeau to consider public inquiry into foreign elections interference

OTTAWA—In a major shift, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will now weigh whether to call a public inquiry into foreign elections interference after former governor general David Johnston stunned the government Friday, resigning as outside adviser after weeks of controversy over his appointment and the conclusions of his interim report.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, in a statement issued within an hour of Johnston’s resignation, said the prime minister has “tasked me with consulting experts and opposition parties on next steps and to assess who is best to lead that work.”

I bet John McCallum gets the nod.

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The media hid the fact that the 2022 Canadian trucker convoy won

Canada had some of the most draconian COVID restrictions in the world. In January 2022, Canadian truckers had enough. They banded together in a massive convoy headed for Ottawa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded with a brutal crackdown, arresting many and, even worse, working with banks to impoverish the truckers and their supporters. And that’s where most of us thought it ended—with defeated truckers. Now, though, a Twitterer has written a post explaining that the convoy was wildly successful, news that Canada’s (and the world’s) media stifled.

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Special Crony David Johnston Quits

David Johnston resigning as special rapporteur on foreign interference

David Johnston — tasked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau back in March with looking into allegations that China tried to meddle in the past two federal elections — says he has decided to step down from that role.

In a resignation letter sent to Trudeau, Johnston said his role has become too muddled in political controversy for him to continue.

“When I undertook the task of independent special rapporteur on foreign interference, my objective was to help build trust in our democratic institutions,” the former governor general wrote.

h/t Mauser


It’s difficult to read his resignation without smirking. Try as he might to come off as a noble man wrongly smeared as a Trudeau hack and ChiCom useful idiot it just doesn’t pass the smell test. Well it does if you like the aroma of rancid Egg Rolls I guess.

Johnston was hired for one reason only; To run cover for the China Class of which both he and Trudeau are members.

These puppets willingly danced to Beijing’s tune.

Even a cursory glance into their backgrounds turns up the stench of their grift.

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Diaspora groups join calls for public inquiry on foreign interference

A day after embattled special rapporteur David Johnston defended his approach to investigating foreign interference before a parliamentary committee, multiple Chinese Canadian diaspora groups say he should have consulted them and are calling for a public inquiry.

“Mr. Johnston’s report is a huge disappointment,” said Gloria Fung, president of the Canada-Hong Kong Link, during a joint news conference with other diaspora groups organized by the Bloc Québécois.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Johnston has failed to reach out to the diaspora organizations.

So long as it’s not the Xi Jinping Admiration Society.

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Jerome Gessaroli: Liberals’ war on cars harms low-income Canadians

A growing number of Canadians are finding it increasingly challenging to maintain their standard of living, with more and more people struggling just to afford basic necessities.

Even though a range of contributing factors — such as rising commodity prices, or supply disruptions due to the war in Ukraine — are beyond our government’s control, Canadians nonetheless hold the belief and expectation that any actions or interventions taken by the government will lessen the burdens we face. Unfortunately, too often government policies often have the opposite effect and financially burden Canadians further.

It’s a war designed to impoverish us.

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Canadians more likely to support foreign interference inquiry than hearings: Nanos

Canadians are twice as likely to support a formal inquiry into foreign interference, as opposed to public hearings, according to new polling from Nanos Research for CTV News.

Nearly six in 10 Canadians say they prefer the idea of a formal public inquiry headed by a judge with full subpoena powers, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, a quarter of respondents say they would prefer the public hearings option “to shine more light on the problem of foreign interference and the threat it poses.”

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Terry Glavin: Here’s the report on Chinese interference that Johnston should have written

It’s quite the bombshell. It’s a 77-page investigative report on Beijing’s influence operations in Canada’s democratic institutions. It examines the Chinese Communist Party’s sinister engagements with this country’s political processes, universities, civil society, corporate sector, Chinese-language news media and social media.

Rich in documentary evidence and fact-based analysis, the report also relies on expert advice and named informants, except in cases where the security of individuals and entities would be put at risk. It’s titled Murky Waters: Beijing’s Influence in Canadian Democratic and Electoral Processes.

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David Johnston’s in damage control mode — and it’s not working

Former governor general David Johnston has revealed he’s been using not one, but two reputation-management firms to do his work looking into foreign interference in Canada’s democracy. He might need a couple more.

For more than three hours on Tuesday, Johnston was plunged into the politics he’s tried to stay above during his long career in public service and academia.

His mission was to defend the work he’s done to date for Justin Trudeau’s government, looking into the white-hot issue of whether this country is vulnerable to foreign interference in its elections, notably from China.

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David Johnston says China interference whitewash may have been based on incomplete intelligence

David Johnston says China interference findings may have been based on incomplete intelligence

Former governor-general David Johnston conceded Tuesday that his findings that China did not orchestrate a campaign against the Conservative Party may have been based on incomplete intelligence, casting doubt on the special rapporteur’s report that a public inquiry into Beijing interference in Canadian democracy is not warranted.

In testimony before the Commons committee on procedure and House affairs, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh pressed Mr. Johnston to explain a contradiction between his report and what former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole told Parliament last week.

After all, how much intelligence is needed for a whitewash?

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“There clearly were strange practices, unusual practices going on” at Dong nomination but that’s OK says Special Crony

Johnston did not interview Han Dong for foreign interference report

… David Johnston, a former governor general appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to review allegations of foreign meddling, told a House of Commons’ committee Tuesday that he did not interview Don Valley North MP Han Dong during his two-month probe.

That’s despite finding that “there clearly were strange practices, unusual practices going on” during Dong’s 2019 nomination contest in the safe Liberal riding. Johnston said his team did not conclude that those “strange practices” could be attributed to the People’s Republic of China, though his report noted suspicions that they could be.

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Franky Champagne says Stellantis will get a shitload of tax payer money if they want it

Stellantis has what it needs to make decision on Windsor battery plant: Champagne

Franky Champagne

OTTAWA – Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions have what they need to make a decision on a proposed electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor.

A spokeswoman for Stellantis says the two companies received a “written offer” and are currently analyzing it.

The companies put the brakes on construction of the plant in May after their talks with Ottawa stalled.

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Special Crony David Johnston testifies before foreign interference committee … brought to you live in “Cronyvision”

Special Crony David Johnston testifies before foreign interference committee … brought to you live in “Cronyvision”

As mentioned this will be a couple of hours of how dare you question my integrity blah blah blah …

David Johnston’s lead counsel on foreign interference probe attended Trudeau fundraiser in 2021

The lead counsel for special rapporteur David Johnston, who oversees the government-appointed probe into Chinese foreign interference, has not only donated exclusively to the Liberal Party but also attended a private fundraiser where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the guest of honour.

Elections Canada records show that Toronto lawyer Sheila Block participated in a private Zoom webinar fundraiser in late March, 2021, billed as a “Virtual Conversation with Anita Anand and Justin Trudeau.” Ms. Anand, now Defence Minister, was minister responsible for public services and procurement at the time.

h/t DM

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