Singh and Poilievre to begin talks on terms for public inquiry on foreign meddling

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This article was published 14/06/2023 (1153 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre were set to meet Wednesday to discuss terms for a possible public inquiry on foreign interference, as the prime minister praised opposition parties for behaving in a less-toxic manner.

A spokesperson for the Conservatives said Poilievre’s office first reached out to Singh on Tuesday, and confirmed the two would speak Wednesday evening by phone.

Poilievre sat down with Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet on Tuesday.

“We mainly discussed the fact that we were not to discuss publicly what we discussed,” Blanchet said on Wednesday.

The New Democrats were more forthcoming, saying they would be recommending that main federal party leaders or their representatives sit at a table to discuss terms of reference for an inquiry — or that the discussion happen at the procedure and House affairs committee, which has been studying foreign interference.

Singh said the former option would be similar to what the province of Ontario does when electing a legislative officer.

A committee could be struck that would include a member from each political party and be chaired by a non-voting person, such as the Speaker of the legislature. They would evaluate candidates and come to a unanimous decision together on the best person for the job and what they would be tasked with.

“Our concern is that what the government has done is said, ‘Every party leader, give us your thoughts on it.’ They’re going to receive basically different letters from each leader and say, ‘Oh, there’s no consensus, this can’t go forward,'” Singh said.

“I want to avoid the Liberals having that excuse.”

Singh suggested that the Bloc has already fallen into that trap, after Blanchet put forth a list of names to the government on Tuesday that could lead a public inquiry.

The Bloc’s list included former Supreme Court of Canada justice Louise Arbour, who was recently tasked with reviewing sexual misconduct in the Canadian military.

Singh noted that Arbour has a past connection to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, “which was the major critique of the Bloc for (David) Johnston.”

Opposition parties agree that the 2019 and 2021 federal election results were not compromised, but they believe a public inquiry is the only way for Canadians to feel confident in their electoral system amid allegations that Beijing tried to interfere in both contests.

Party leaders have said they are not interested in replacing Johnston, who had been appointed as a special rapporteur on foreign interference.

He announced last Friday that he would resign by the end of the month, citing a hyper-partisan atmosphere around his work. He was accused of being too close to both the Trudeau foundation and the Trudeau family.

In an initial report last month, Johnston suggested that holding a formal public inquiry on the issue wouldn’t make sense because too much information would need to be kept confidential. He had planned instead to hold a series of public hearings over the summer.

The Liberals have said they are open to a public process to evaluate reforms needed to combat foreign interference, and suggested a formal inquiry is not off the table.

But they have punted the decision-making around a potential inquiry to opposition parties in what they say is an attempt to lower the partisan temperature.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters during an event in Quebec that he’s happy to see opposition parties working together and in a less-toxic manner.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc has said he would like opposition parties to come to a decision by the end of next week, but has also said he wants a decision this month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2023.