“China – Communist Slave State”

David Johnston’s first report on foreign interference states at the outset that democracy is built on trust.

It is truly unfortunate that his rejection of a full public inquiry is likely to further erode faith that is already wavering.

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is refusing to review classified information on foreign state interference, stating he won’t be “silenced” as he continues to claim — contrary to the conclusion of a new report he dismissed as untrustworthy — that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau might be “complicit” in Chinese efforts to meddle in Canadian democracy.

Speaking in Quebec City on Tuesday, Poilievre did not waver from his party’s criticism of former governor general David Johnston, who published an interim report earlier in the day as the government’s “special rapporteur” on foreign political interference.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he has “total confidence” in the work being done by special rapporteur David Johnston, who earlier in the day recommended against holding a public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference in Canada’s elections.

“I committed to listening very carefully and abiding by the recommendations that the former governor general made, and he explained and justified his thought processes by it and we will be following his recommendations,” Trudeau told reporters.

Canadians who say they have been targeted by China expressed anger at Tuesday’s decision by former governor general David Johnston to reject a formal inquiry into foreign interference, saying that “toothless” public hearings will be unlikely to lead to action.

Johnston rejected calls for a public inquiry saying it would be impeded by the need to keep classified intelligence a secret.

“I have concluded it would not serve a useful purpose to enhance trust,” Johnston said, but said he would use his mandate to hold public hearings on how Ottawa can best respond to foreign interference activities in Canada.

We are an odd nation. We aspire to be many things, to be included in multilateral fora, to be noticed. We want to be seen as important, as “not Americans.” Maybe that is partly a consequence of having the United States next door and feelings of inadequacy/fear. As Prime Minister Trudeau—Pierre, not the current version—once put it: “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast … one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”

The disintegration continues. The latest revelation about the Trudeau Liberals’ blindness to Chinese election meddling is that then-public safety and emergency preparedness minister Bill Blair took months to grant CSIS a warrant to monitor election activities by former Ontario cabinet minister infamous for his links to communist China. And they still have no idea how to respond.

As my former Sun News colleague Alex Pierson tweeted, “Either they are complicit or incompetent. Everyday it is another jaw dropper.” To which I responded, “Of course they could be both.” And certainly, incompetence is playing a key role.

With allegations that China meddled in the last two federal elections dominating the political conversation for months, experts say an inquiry would allow for a detailed, transparent conversation about what kind of threat Canada is actually facing.

It would also allow the Liberal government to demonstrate that it is doing more to address the issue, they say.