Johnston should tell Trudeau to call inquiry on China now

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Former governor-general David Johnston has until May 23 to decide on whether to advise Justin Trudeau to call a public inquiry into Chinese interference in Canadian politics. He should not wait. He should advise the Prime Minister to call the inquiry now. Today. This hour.

Whatever secret documents Mr. Johnston may be privy to, the publicly available evidence – not least new revelations by my colleagues Robert Fife and Steven Chase of alleged blatant manipulation of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation by people acting on behalf of China – requires a thorough public examination.

For his part, Mr. Trudeau surely realizes that the reasonable citizen is wondering whether this government has been influenced and the integrity of the electoral system compromised by illegal Chinese actions.

It is in Mr. Trudeau’s own political self-interest to clear the air. Rather than waiting for Mr. Johnston to report, he should announce a public inquiry now. Today. This hour.

Every day and hour this Liberal government delays further undermines its credibility and increases the likelihood of its defeat in the next general election.

Let’s construct the most generous possible explanation of events, the explanation that a committed Liberal supporter might offer, sincerely believing every word.

The Liberal supporter might point out that the Chrétien government in the 1990s undertook in good faith to deepen ties with a China that was finally emerging from its Maoist isolation. As the Chinese economy roared forward in the next decade, Canada benefited from those bonds of trade and goodwill.

When Stephen Harper’s Conservative government sought to distance Canada from the new economic superpower, the howls of protest from the business community forced it into a humiliating retreat.

With Justin Trudeau’s 2015 election victory, progress in deepening the Sino-Canadian relationship resumed, as both sides explored a possible (though ultimately abandoned) free-trade agreement.

Mr. Trudeau cannot be blamed for failing to recognize that Xi Jinping was a much more aggressive and expansionist President than his predecessors. Many world leaders made the same mistake.

How could Mr. Trudeau possibly have known when he attended fundraisers that some of the Chinese business leaders he talked to may have been conduits for money from Beijing intended to influence his government’s actions?

It was news to everyone within the party, the Liberal supporter might say, that the Chinese government actively conspired to influence the outcome of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections by supporting the campaigns of certain Liberal candidates. The Liberals won those elections fair and square, even if the Conservative caucus was a bit thinner than it might have been otherwise.

As for the latest revelations that a $140,000 cheque to the Trudeau Foundation was reportedly sent from Beijing through intermediaries in hopes of purchasing influence with Mr. Trudeau, the Prime Minister was completely unaware. And the resignation of the charity’s entire board of directors and CEO this week over that tainted donation was the result of jacked-up media reports. The stories in The Globe and Mail and in La Presse about fights among board members over the donation were nothing more than, um … (gulp).

Now. Today. This hour.

There is something else. I remain completely convinced of Mr. Johnston’s ability to assess this situation and to advise the Prime Minister without fear or favour. He has provided a lifetime of evidence in support of that confidence.

But Mr. Johnston was a member of the Trudeau Foundation. He was not a member of the board, he arrived after the tainted donation was made, and he ended his membership when he accepted Mr. Trudeau’s invitation to become special rapporteur on the Chinese government’s influence in Canada.

Reasonable people maintain that Mr. Johnston is in a perceived conflict of interest. This is another reason why he should move swiftly to recommend an inquiry.

The links between the Chinese government, the Liberal Party, Canada’s corporate community and the Trudeau family are many and complex. Some of them have brought benefit to this country. Some of them might have been corrupting.

Only a public inquiry, one with the authority to examine every document, no matter how top secret, and to compel testimony will restore confidence in our political and electoral systems.

Now. Today. This hour.