Roundup: David Johnston, special rapporteur

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The “unimpeachable” eminent Canadian chosen to be the special rapporteur on allegations of foreign interference is former Governor General David Johnston, and it took mere minutes for the Conservatives to start denouncing him, citing that he was affiliated with the Trudeau Foundation, and that his role on the election debate commission saw Rosemary Barton ask questions during the last debate when she “sued” the Conservatives (note: she did not sue them, but the CBC sued the party in her name for unauthorised use of footage; also, I don’t believe Johnston chose the moderators or questioners, considering that it was a demand of the broadcast consortium that their talent each be allowed to have time during the debate), and on and on it went. The pundit class largely insisted that Johnston should have recused himself right away because he is too closely associated with Trudeau, and others insisted that if it was truly a non-partisan appointment then Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh should have been part of the process and naming him, and anyway, the whole special rapporteur thing was stupid and so on.

https://twitter.com/SusanDelacourt/status/1636102797623009281

I mean, I understand why Trudeau decided to go this route—not everyone agrees that a public inquiry is the best route to go, because it could go for years and that could mean delaying action that should be taken now. Even if it is the route we want to go (and several Liberals are now saying that it’s the only option at this point), it would still be Trudeau and Cabinet setting the terms of reference, which is also part of the rationale—Trudeau says that he would leave that determination up to Johnston, and he’d follow his recommendations, thereby trying to put some measure of distance between himself and any such task. I do say that it mystifies me that everyone demanding an inquiry right now if not yesterday never seems to care about this very point, even though we all damned well know that they would immediately cite these points as to why the inquiry is illegitimate.

But honestly? Canada is a small pond. There are not too many “eminent Canadians” who have the track record to take on this kind of task, and who don’t have some kind of perceived conflict, no matter how unrealistic it is. But that’s the whole thing with perceived conflicts, and this notion of “smell tests” that don’t actually mean anything but which get the chattering classes frothing. Is Johnston the best choice? Maybe, maybe not. The likely other option was a former Supreme Court Justice, which has become a running joke in Canadian politics these days. Regardless, the fact that this is just more partisan fodder is all the more proof that parties are not actually taking this seriously, and would rather be out to score points instead.

Ukraine Dispatch:

American intelligence suggests that the Russians are making small advances toward Bakhmut, but at great cost. Further north near Kreminna, similar battles are playing out, with the Russians making unsuccessful attacks, but they worry that the attempts to surround Bakhmut could have repercussions for their section of the front, while fatigue is starting to set in.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau was in Newfoundland and Labrador to proclaim the achievement of $10/day child care ahead of schedule (never mind the shortage of child care staff).
  • Trudeau also teased new affordability measures in the upcoming budget.
  • Steven Guilbeault says that Ontario isn’t living up to their obligations to protect boreal caribou habitat (which should surprise nobody).
  • The Competition Bureau has submitted recommendations to how to change their enabling legislation so that they can be more effective and more timely.
  • The Canadian Transportation Agency is levying some low-level fines against airlines for issues related to travel chaos over the holiday season.
  • The Superintendent of Financial Institutions has now taken permanent control of Silicon Valley Bank’s Canadian operations as it winds down.
  • The Federal Court of Appeal has stayed the ruling on repatriating four Canadians from Syrian detention camps, pending an appeal in the next few weeks.
  • Major-General Dany Fortin is suing sixteen officials including the prime minister and chief of defence staff for his removal from his post when allegations surfaced.
  • Here is an explainer as to why the costs of the Trans Mountain Expansion have skyrocketed (and are still increasing).
  • Haitian officials claim the promise of armoured vehicles isn’t being fulfilled, while the manufacturer says the Haitians keep changing their specifications.
  • The Conservatives are being criticised for vetoing the nomination candidacy of a pro-life would-be candidate in Oxford, for reasons they didn’t tell him.
  • The Alberta and Federal governments are hoping to understand the “communication failure” around the tailings pond seepage. (It should be obvious).
  • Susan Delacourt makes a few observations about David Johnston’s appointment as the special rapporteur.

Odds and ends:

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: David Johnston, special rapporteur”

  1. I feel like if PMJT’s ex-girlfriend was on the payroll is would be a bigger deal.

    Also what exactly is Katie Talford suppose to testify to anyhow? She testifies at JWR explaining how come she resigned from Veterans Affairs hearings and refuted JWR’s unsubstantiated claims then she also testified at 3-day W.E. contract which W.E. which the children’s charity withdrew from and refuted the allegations there and yet the professional chattering class just sort of ignored her and kept coming that they still refer to them as “scandals” so from her P.O.V., what’s the point?

  2. The CPC has given up on persuading Canada to vote Trudeau out, so they gin up “scandals” to try to force him to resign.
    It didn’t work with JWR in 2019, nor with WE in 2020, nor with the Emergencies Act in 2022. Now its “Chinese election interference” in 2023.
    Their goal is to get Trudeau to resign. Their fear is that Johnston’s report (like Rouleau’s) will not do this — and he might even confirm that Elections Canada and the RCMP already have the legal chops to make sure Canadian elections are decided fairly and with transparency.

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