David Johnston has resigned as special advisor to the Trudeau government. He really had no choice.
He put it this way: “When I undertook the task of Independent Special Rapporteur on foreign interference, my objective was to help build trust in our democratic institutions. I have concluded that given the highly partisan atmosphere around my appointment and work, my leadership has had the opposite effect.”
Well, he got that right. The former governor general, constitutional lawyer, and academic leader, never had a chance from the get-go. His reputation has been smeared and his integrity questioned and by the look of him lately, perhaps even his health compromised.
So, whose fault is that? Certainly, there is enough blame to go around but let’s start where the buck stops and that is with the Prime Minister. Here is a man who has been a political junkie almost since he was out of the cradle. Justin Trudeau would have known that David Johnston is the kind of Canadian who would never say “no” when called upon to serve his country.
The Prime Minister, and certainly the henchmen (and women) in his office, would have also known the political uproar that would ensue by appointing a person, no matter how well qualified, with ties to the Prime Minister and his family. It was like handing a ribbon-tied gift to the Opposition parties. One really needs to ask why.
Could it be that David Johnston was a dispensable screen to keep Justin Trudeau out of the limelight in relation to election interference by foreign entities? To have the spotlight shine on Johnston and his perceived conflicts and not on the Prime Minister? Surely not. Who would think that? (Sarcasm here)
But if it is true, the Opposition parties stepped right into it—hook, line, and sinker. They pilloried David Johnston, all three of them: Jagmeet Singh, Pierre Poilievre, and Yves Blanchet. A good man was taken down. In my view, they were sucker punched. David Johnston became the target and Justin Trudeau, at least on this issue, went off the front page.
I agree with former Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Erin O’Toole, when he said, “David Johnston is an exceptional Canadian. His service to our country has been extraordinary and I want Canadians to remember that. It is so disappointing that the Prime Minister used his stellar reputation as a political shield.” It is equally disappointing, in my view, that Opposition critics went along with it.
So, what now? Surely the time has come to take the focus off of personalities and focus on the matter of foreign interference in our elections. It may not be top of mind for many Canadians, but it is still very serious.
On this issue at least, it is time to stop playing “gotcha” politics and get down to the hard facts about whether China is interfering in our electoral process and using tactics of intimidation on Canadians of Chinese descent. There are other foreign governments that should be investigated in this regard as well. So far, that really has not happened.
I find it hard to believe that foreign interference actually changed any election results in the 2021 federal election. Those that want to go there are missing the bigger picture. That bigger picture, in my view, is whether or not our intelligence services are on top of what foreign entities are doing in this country, whether it is electoral interference, black hole police intimidation, or just plain espionage.
Fred De Lory is a prominent Conservative and was campaign manager for that party in the last federal election. In a recent appearance at the House of Commons Procedure Committee, he said this: “We are spending a lot of time trying to find out who did what, when, and where. I feel as legislators, a lot of effort should be going into putting legislation together to plug those holes………We are under threat here. All parties could be impacted by this in the next election. It can come from different entities; different countries and I really wish we could see a more collaborative approach to really drill down on what the issues are and how we solve them.”
To accomplish that, it is my view now that a public inquiry is imperative. Canadians need to know whether or not our Intelligence services are working and whether our sovereignty is protected. They need to know how much foreign interference there is in this country and, as importantly, what is being done about it. It is also my view that the terms of the public inquiry should be broad enough to look at all aspects of possible foreign interference in Canada in addition to elections.
Since David Johnston’s resignation, the Trudeau government has sent signals that they would consider a formal public inquiry. The question of course will be, who will lead it?
Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and probably the closest personal friend in Cabinet to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has reached out to Opposition leaders for suggestions as to who should lead this public inquiry should one be held.
Cynics have predicted that Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre would never participate in this process and never agree with the government on who should lead it. I hope that he will. There are good people out there and both he and David Johnston have said, although in different ways, that the next step in this process should be led by a capable and respected individual with national security experience.
If a public inquiry is held, Mr. Poilievre will have gotten what he asked for. Surely, now he has an obligation to participate in finding a suitable person to lead that inquiry. Unless, of course, he just wants another person he can attack. I hope that isn’t the case.
My cynical sense is that Dominic LeBlanc is hoping against hope that Mr. Poilievre will turn down the invitation to participate in finding a suitable candidate to lead this process. That would suit his party’s political purposes. At the very least, it would give them an excuse for not holding a public inquiry.
Pierre Poilievre should not give them that opportunity.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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They sense the blood in the water, and the local the shiver of sharks is drawn to this new opportunity. David Johnston is gone and the bullying needs to refocus.
Should Paul Bernardo have been relocated? The question offers the shiver an opportunity. Who knew? Knew what! Knew when? The plot sickens.
For me , as long as the man is incarcerated ’til he’s done, I care not a whit. I can understand some of the concerns that people close to the victims have. I also feel that the legal system dropped the ball, back when they allowed his accomplice to walk free. My opinion.
Enter Mario Mendicino, the Public Safety Minister, and in the eye of Pierre Poilievre, the chopped liver of the day. Let the BS and bullying begin anew! Mr. Poilievre, armed with loads of pretention, and in full voice, leading the frenzy. Penned dog hunting is deemed to be cruel, but here we have people on people.
Mr. Poilievre hopes to replace Mr. Trudeau as prime minister; to become the new boss. He must be aware that, then he will be able to assign people to jobs who are every bit as incompetent as the ineffectuals we have in office today. But he won’t care, because if he’s the new boss, he will simply duck, dodge, preen and prevaricate, ‘same as the old boss’.
Maybe a full public inquiry is necessary. What little rays of sunshine our politicians are. Antacids just don’t offer enough protection from these people!
My goodness, Mr. Mackenzie, where was your criticism of Stephen Harper appointing of David Johnson to determine the terms of reference for the Oliphant Commission? Did SH appoint Johnson to protect himself and Brian Mulroney?
Further, one might remark on the political savvy of Harper in choosing this scapegoat (David Johnson) as the basis for that inquiry. Seriously?
We all need to use care in finger-pointing, the other four fingers point right back to oneself.
Let’s remember that the Cost of this public inquiry will be the fodder of the Conservatives against the Liberal government spending. What a cycle.
On the subject of our political process possibly being compromised by outside interference I have no idea, of course this is important and should be properly researched. However I am disappointed that I cannot find anyone questioning the internal structure of our election process. Some months back I pointed out that when I voted in the last provincial election my paper ballot was fed into a Dominion Computer. I was quite shocked at the time and have watched to see who else is questioning the use of computers in our voting system. So far, no-one? — “It’s Not Who Votes That Counts, It’s Who Counts The Votes! – Josef Stalin” — Am I missing something? https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/officials-raised-concerns-for-years-about-security-of-us-voting-machines-software-systems
Jean Bagshaw you are absolutely correct. I am certain most Canadians are tired of politicans pointing out problems and then spending the rest of the time analyzing their finger.
Mr. Johnston has already told us that there are serious shortfalls in Canada’s handling of intelligence, as well as the communication between intelligence services and government and the action needed to deal with it.
They need to get on with making the necessary changes. The problem with a full-fledged public inquiry is the time it takes to do it and the fact that it gives them an excuse to simply do a report, stick it on a shelf, and do nothing.
We need concrete action in the real world, as soon as possible.