David Johnston to be questioned by MPs on foreign interference special rapporteur role

Canada’s special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston will be questioned by MPs at committee Tuesday morning, about his role, his report into election meddling, his decision against a public inquiry, and allegations of a conflict of interest.

Set to appear before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee — which has been taking the parliamentary lead in probing allegations of attempts by China to interfere in Canadian political affairs — Johnston will be in the hot seat for three hours, starting at 10 a.m. EDT. CTV News will have special live coverage. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Johnston to the role in March, as part of a suite of measures responding to concerns the Liberal government failed to share information, or respond adequately to the threat of foreign interference in the last two federal elections.

From the outset of his appointment, the former governor general has faced consistent personal attacks largely from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his MPs, accusing him of bias despite a lengthy career of appointments to non-partisan roles by political leaders across the spectrum. 

In his interim report released May 23, while pointing to the real threat that foreign election interference poses and the need to address some serious intelligence gaps, Johnston recommended against a public inquiry, but announced plans of his own to conduct public hearings. 

This prompted a new wave of fury, with the opposition calling it the latest example of how Johnston was in a conflict given his close family connection to the Trudeau family and his past membership status with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation that’s faced scrutiny over a China-linked donation.

Last week, the majority of MPs in the House of Commons passed an NDP motion calling for him to “step aside” as rapporteur, calling for Johnston to remove himself from the role as rapporteur given the “serious questions” raised about Johnston’s mandate, the past political donations from the council he retained to support his work, and his conclusions.

In response, Johnston dismissed this call and made it clear he plans to stick around, saying that while he “deeply” respects the right of the House of Commons to “express its opinion about my work going forward” his mandate is from the government and he feels that he has a “duty to pursue that work until my mandate is completed.” 

Then, it was revealed on Friday that Johnston hired public relations, lobbying and crisis management firm Navigator “to provide communications advice and support.” 

On Monday, asked what he makes of Johnston tapping outside help to complete the job the government is paying for, Trudeau appeared to have no concerns.

“I’m not going to speak to decisions that the independent special rapporteur and his team are making to manage the toxic climate that they’re operating in,” Trudeau said, echoing what’s now been months of Liberals coming to Johnston’s defence.