OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named former governor general David Johnston as the special rapporteur on foreign interference.
Johnston has been asked to look into allegations of foreign meddling in Canada's last two federal elections and recommend what the Liberal government should do about it.
That could include a public inquiry, which opposition parties have been calling for, or some other form of investigation.
Johnston was appointed to the viceregal role on the advice of former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2010 and his term was extended under Trudeau until 2017.
Trudeau announced the plan to appoint an "eminent Canadian" to the role earlier this month, saying at the time that the government will abide by the recommendations.
A special parliamentary security committee is also looking into the alleged interference by China in the 2019 and 2021 elections, following reports by Global News and the Globe and Mail.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2023.
Comments
One problem is that if they look too closely into foreign meddling, they risk finding out that most of it is American, and they can't possibly say boo about THAT, so then what?
I guess Trudeau's such a busy guy he couldn't figure out how to find someone for the role who hadn't identified himself as a "friend of the family."
I wonder if he's a friend of the Harper family too.