Foreign interference public inquiry agreement reached, Conservatives say

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OTTAWA — The Conservatives said all parties agreed Friday on the scope of a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada.

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The agreement appears to end a disagreement between the ruling Liberals and the Conservatives over how to proceed with negotiations to establish an investigation into efforts by foreign governments to interfere in Canadian elections and governance.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc was sent in June to work with other parties on a path forward after special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston resigned.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Johnston in March to dig into repeated claims, mainly from anonymous security sources, that China attempted to influence the outcome of both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Johnston’s initial investigation led him to recommend against a public inquiry, saying that too much of the evidence was classified and could not be made public. That decision, however, angered opposition parties, who have been calling for an inquiry for months.

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The Conservatives also accused Johnston of bias in favor of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Johnston denied any bias but later resigned, citing a “highly partisan” atmosphere around his investigation.

LeBlanc was not specifically appointed to negotiate the terms of an inquiry, but had long known that was the only path forward the other parties were willing to accept.

But the Liberals insisted that all parties had to agree on the terms of reference and the name of the commissioner before announcing an inquiry while the Conservatives insisted that an inquiry had to be announced before they agreed to any particular thing.

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The Liberals wanted to avoid the heavy criticism that greeted their decision to appoint Johnston by taking their opponents on board from the start.

In June, during the last week of Parliament’s spring session, both the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP said they felt negotiations were nearing an end.

On Wednesday, Trudeau said the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois had come to an agreement and accused the Conservatives of blocking consensus. Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer called that “blatantly untrue.”

Instead, he said his party was working “in good faith and in a collaborative manner” and an agreement was close. The Liberals, he said, “continually pushed back on our proposals” and the Liberals did not respond to emails and phone calls from the Conservatives seeking another discussion this week.

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Trudeau of “lying.”

Poilievre said his party is in fact waiting for Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, appointed by Trudeau to lead the discussions, to come back to them with a proposed framework in about a week.

“This past Friday, June 30, the latest proposal for the terms of reference was discussed. It was agreed that we will meet again early this week to confirm the final word,” Poilievre said.

“Conservatives have been asking every day this week for a meeting to confirm a deal, but neither Dominic LeBlanc nor his office has answered the phone… since Friday. Nor have they provided the final text that was negotiated ,” he added.

Following the public dispute, LeBlanc’s office set up a meeting with other House leaders of the party, which took place on Friday night. After the meeting, Conservative party spokesman Sebastian Skamski said there was a deal about what a public inquiry would look like.

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“After pressure from the Conservatives, an agreement on the terms of reference for a public inquiry was reached,” Skamski said.

Furthermore, all parties have now shared their preferred names for who will lead the inquiry. So far, only the Bloc has released their names, including former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, former Liberal justice minister and human rights expert Irwin Cotler, former ambassador to China Guy Saint -Jacques and Louise Otis, a former Quebec magistrate. Court of Appeal and currently president of the administrative tribunal of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

LeBlanc spokespeople would not confirm the details of the agreement or the Conservatives’ claim that there was an agreement on terms of reference. Communications director Kelly Ouimet said the meeting was “very productive” and work will continue next week.

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“There are elements that we have agreed on,” Ouimet said. “(There are) more details to be worked out and we will announce more in time.”

There were differing opinions between the parties about how far an inquiry should go, and whether to limit the scope to the most recent allegations against the Chinese government or expand it to include any evidence tried by other foreigners. government to interfere in Canada’s political system as well.

However, Conservatives and Bloc MPs voted in favor of an NDP motion in late May calling for an inquiry to include a look at attempted interference not only by China but also by Russia, Iran and India. The Liberals voted against that motion, which came nine days before Johnston stepped aside.

— With additional reporting by Catherine Lévesque, National Post at Stephanie Taylor, CP

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