Roundup: Exit David Johnston

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Around 5.30 PM on a Friday evening, the Rt. Hon. David Johnston tendered his resignation as the special rapporteur on foreign interference, citing that the political firestorm around him has reached a point where his job of trying to restore confidence in our electoral system is now impossible, and while he does not counsel a public inquiry, he did urge consultation on choosing a replacement, for what it’s worth. Of course, what this really means is that instead of doing the work of the actual process part of this issue, sorting out what happened in the senior levels of bureaucracy and how to fix it going forward, we now get to spend the next six months fighting over a name that will be acceptable to all parties, whether it’s to continue the existing process or a public inquiry like everyone thinks they want.

In response, the Conservatives crowed and declared that this “proves” that Johnston was flawed from the start, and that his determination that we don’t need a public inquiry was also wrong, so launch a public inquiry, with a lot of Trudeau Foundation conspiracy theories thrown in for good measure. The Bloc were insisting that the head of an inquiry be chosen by Parliament (which is wrong and insane), while the NDP were declaring victory and patting themselves on the back because Johnston, in their estimation, heeded their motion to resign, never mind that he said nothing about that in his resignation letter, and repudiated their performance while at committee. (Peter Julian insisted that by his action of resigning, he took the NDP’s position, which is the most self-aggrandising bullshit this side of Pierre Poilievre). But the underlying notion that Parliament choose the head of an inquiry is both contrary to the law, which clearly states that the head of an inquiry is a Governor-in-Council appointment, and it also launders accountability going forward, which of course MPs can’t get their heads around because almost none of them understands that their role is about holding government to account.

None of this solves the underlying problem that a public inquiry is not magic. Everyone demanding one seems to think it can be wrapped up in the space of a few months, and that can be broad enough in scope to fully understand how deep Chinese infiltration goes into our country, while also providing concrete recommendations for protecting the next election. That’s not going to happen in a few months—that kind of scoping takes years, and is not going to get to the fundamental issue here, which is that this is ultimately a process story about the machinery of government, dealing with classified information, and that a public inquiry can’t hear most of it. That is, if they can find someone to head it who meets everyone’s satisfaction and who is willing to put themselves through the character assassination that will follow. This is one giant mess, and there’s more than enough blame to go around to absolutely everyone, and it’s not going to get any better.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian authorities claim that they have repelled a Ukrainian advance into Zaporizhzhia, and inflicted heavy casualties, but there is no confirmation of these claims. Meanwhile, more Ukrainians are being evacuated from flooded homes after Russia destroyed the dam on the Dnipro river.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1667133462787047425?s=61&t=OQl-ixPj-I_27b0NFGeMZg

https://twitter.com/kyivpost/status/1667094711994052609?s=61&t=OQl-ixPj-I_27b0NFGeMZg

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau criticised Blaine Higgs’ gutting of his province’s safe schools policy for LGBTQ+ students.
  • At one point, Canada considered using space at the EU compound in Kabul to help get Afghans from the country, but quickly determined it wasn’t feasible or safe.
  • Former diplomats are cautiously optimistic about Mélanie Joly’s promised overhaul of Global Affairs, but also say that they’ve heard these promises plenty of times.
  • The head of the RCMP Civilian Review and Complaints Commission says she doesn’t have the resources to undertake investigations on systemic issues.
  • The Globe and Mail has a major project on the state of Access to Information laws across Canada, and how the systems are all fundamentally broken.
  • Nova Scotia has identified thousands of personal records stolen in the global MoveIt global hack.
  • Emmett Macfarlane remarks on a recent Federal Court of Appeal decision around the CRTC upholding a complaint around use of the N-word on the air.
  • Jessica Davis praises the courts starting to expand the definition of terrorism to include more ideologically-motivated violent extremism.

Odds and ends:

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: Exit David Johnston”

  1. What journalists are afraid of is the truth. Truth hurts. Those who are called out because of their lies particularly those upon whom journalists rely on for “news” can find ways to end reporters access who don’t couch to an early grave.The old adage “go along to get along” has never been more apt today.

  2. I regret that Mr Johnston has resigned, such an honourable and serious fellow, but I cannot blame him. The assault he endured at the hands of these malicious politicians was unreasonable. I did not see one Media type call out these politicians. The only real winner here is the Communist Party of China, who understand that they can continue their interference with impunity. Thank you Poilievre and Jagmeet.

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