Tories to work with NDP, Bloc to set terms on potential foreign interference inquiry

The federal Conservatives are willing to work with other opposition parties to set the terms of reference for a possible inquiry on foreign interference and plan to get the process started in the coming days, the Tory leader said Sunday.

Pierre Poilievre said he will reach out to the New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois next week to get the work underway.

Poilievre's remarks came a day after the Liberal government re-opened the possibility of holding a public inquiry on allegations that China meddled in two recent federal elections, but only if opposition parties take a hand in the process by coming up with its terms of reference, timeline and potential leader.

"I will work with opposition colleagues to make sure the person who fills the roll is independent and unbiased," Poilievre said at a Sunday afternoon news conference.

He said he wants to see somebody in the role who has no ties to the Trudeau family or the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, and has a track record of nonpartisanship and neutrality.

Poilievre is also asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call an inquiry immediately.

"He needs to call it right away. He has to get someone who's job ready and we need to have terms of reference that have tight timelines to have the hearings occur as quickly as possible and get all the truth on the table before the next election," Poilievre said.

The New Democrats also have certain qualifications in mind.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said on Saturday that a public inquiry must be led by a judge with no ties to either the Liberal party or the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation who has also refrained from donating to a federal political party in at least the last decade.

The government is undertaking work to find possible gaps in how it handles allegations of foreign interference and initially appointed former governor general David Johnston as a special rapporteur to probe the issue.

But Johnston resigned from the role on Friday, citing the highly partisan atmosphere around his work.

Johnston's appointment had been contentious from the start. Poilievre repeatedly accused him of being too close to Trudeau's family to provide an unbiased review of government actions. Johnston was friends with Pierre Elliott Trudeau and went on ski trips with the Trudeau family when the current Prime Minister was a child.

The New Democrats had also called for Johnston to step down due to the perceived bias.

All opposition parties have been calling for the government to hold a public inquiry into foreign interference.

Beginning last fall, the Globe and Mail and Global News published a series of reports that cited unnamed security sources who alleged there was a co-ordinated effort by Beijing to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

In March, facing increasing pressure inside and outside the House of Commons, Trudeau named Johnston as special rapporteur and tasked him with setting a path forward for the government in tackling the issue. He was asked to report back by May 23 on whether that should include a public inquiry.

"A deep and comprehensive review of foreign interference, its effects and how to prevent it should be an urgent priority for your government and our Parliament," Johnston wrote Friday in his resignation letter to Trudeau.

He reiterated the conclusion he reached in his report last month, in which he said a public inquiry would not be useful given the constraints of national security laws and the amount of classified information that would be dealt with.

He suggested public hearings should be held to educate Canadians about how foreign interference happens and how to manage it.

Johnston said Friday that he will release a brief final report by the end of the month. That will conclude his work.

As he stepped aside, Johnston encouraged Trudeau to appoint a "respected person with national security experience" to finish the work he started, and suggested he consult with opposition parties on who that should be.

The Conservatives don't want to see Trudeau appoint another rapporteur, and on Sunday Poilievre repeated his calls for a public inquiry.

"We want him to end the cover up, call a public inquiry and I will work with our opposition colleagues to make sure that the person who fills that role is independent and unbiased in doing a thorough and public investigation," Poilievre said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2023.