Opposition leaders yet to meet about setting terms of possible public inquiry: Singh
Opposition leaders have yet to meet to discuss terms of reference for a possible public inquiry into foreign interference, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Monday, with one national security expert saying their proposal will likely be a sticking point.
The Liberal government punted the decision-making around a potential inquiry to opposition parties on Saturday. It is asking them to do four things: find someone to lead the inquiry, set the terms of reference, come up with a timeline and determine how it will deal with sensitive information.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said getting their help is a way to avoid the partisan "buffoonery" that has taken over the topic following media reports about allegations that China meddled in the last two federal elections. He said he would like their response this month. The House of Commons is set to break for the summer in two weeks.
- Capital Dispatch: Sign up for in-depth political coverage of Parliament Hill
- 5 Things to Know newsletter: Sign up to start your day with the biggest stories
- Nightly Briefing newsletter: Sign up for coverage of the day’s most compelling news
Singh said he has yet to hear from the government or Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on the matter, despite both saying on the weekend that they would be reaching out.
He said the government should call a public inquiry immediately, adding a House of Commons committee has already started the work around what it should look like.
"That work is something that New Democrats already anticipated needed to be done, and we called for it. So now with the signal that we're receiving from the government, if there's a genuine interest in moving forward, it's now on the government (to call a public inquiry)," Singh said Monday.
"The ball's in their court."
The New Democrats, Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois have said they want to see a public inquiry called and concluded before the next federal election.
But it's a timeline that doesn't seem doable, said Wesley Wark, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
He said the fastest judicial inquiry Canada had in the last 20 years that took on this type of focused topic was the commission that looked into Canadian officials' actions in relation to Maher Arar. That process took two-and-a-half years.
The process is only complete when the government has responded to an inquiry's recommendations, said Wark, who also served two terms on former prime minister Stephen Harper's advisory council on national security from 2005 to 2009. That's "important for the public to understand," he said.
He also pointed to the Public Order Emergency Commission that wrapped up earlier this year. It completed a final report on the government's use of the Emergencies Act in response to last year's "Freedom Convoy" protests in less than a year. But the government has not yet had much time to respond to its recommendations.
Wark said if parliamentarians are serious about the process, it would likely take them past the next federal election, which could be scheduled as late as October 2025 but may be called or triggered sooner.
LeBlanc said on Saturday his party is hoping to govern until 2025 and that it's prepared to support a public process, whatever that may look like.
His comments came in response to former governor general David Johnston's decision Friday to resign as the government's special rapporteur on the issue by the end of this month.
His resignation on Friday seemingly blindsided Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was on a surprise trip to Ukraine. Earlier in the week, Trudeau had defended Johnston's work and integrity while stating publicly he would carry out the rest of his mandate.
Trudeau appointed Johnston in March to address gaps in the system, but opposition leaders demanded he resign amid accusations that he was biased because of a previous relationship with the Trudeau family.
Opposition leaders are not interested in appointing a new rapporteur -- an option that remains on the table -- and are instead demanding a public inquiry. Johnston's first report had concluded such an inquiry would not be feasible because most of the information about allegations of foreign meddling would have to remain secret.
Wark said it's a calculated move by the government to pass the onus onto opposition parties, who had been clamouring to be a part of the process.
"As a political gambit, this could work if the opposition parties either cannot agree among themselves, which is possible, or cannot come up with a justifiable framework for a public investigation, which is also a possible outcome," Wark said.
He said the government will be looking closely at their terms of reference: Do they focus on strengthening the government's capacity, or do they want a forensic examination that went on in the past?
"If the opposition parties stick to the examination of what went on in the past, the government thinks it has a winning hand there because they can just say, 'The opposition parties are not taking this seriously, and they're not interested in contributing to the strengthening of national security,"' Wark said.
"That's the real wedge issue here. It's not who would do an inquiry."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air Canada union head says she'll resign if pilots reject deal
The head of the Air Canada pilots union says she'll step down if members opt not to approve a tentative deal with the airline, raising the stakes as aviators mull whether to accept hefty salary gains or drive an even harder bargain.
2 suspended from U.S. college swim team after report of slur scratched onto student's body
At least two students at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania have been suspended from the swim team after a report that a racial slur was scratched onto a student's body, officials said.
North Carolina's Robinson, omitted from Trump rally, avoids comment on report about online posts
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson avoided directly weighing in during a gubernatorial campaign event Saturday on a CNN report outlining evidence that he made disturbing posts on a pornography website's message board more than a decade ago.
Netanyahu considering plan to force all Palestinian civilians out of northern Gaza to besiege Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a plan to force all Palestinian civilians out of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, in order to lay siege to Hamas and force the release of hostages.
How does your health measure up? Criticism of long-time tool used to track progress
Body mass index, a long-time tool used to measure a person's health, may soon be out the door as some health professionals push for a system they say is more accurate.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
What is the U.S. Electoral College? America's path to the presidency, explained
In less than two months, Americans will go to the polls to choose their next president. But the process that translates those millions of votes into one seat in the Oval Office is much more complicated than a straight tally.
Infectious disease physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch says whooping cough is most risky for unvaccinated infants, children and older people.
NDP needs to decide whether 4 million Canadians deserve dental care: minister
Procurement Minister and newly appointed Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos is warning the NDP that the dental care program it helped put into place will be in jeopardy if it pulls its support from the governing Liberals.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.