David Johnson's surprising blunder

David Johnson's surprising blunder

Special Rapporteur David Johnson did not recommend a proper inquiry into illegal and unethical election interference.

Despite Parliament expressing its will to have one, and every-party leader calling for such a review, the prime minister ducked behind the political cover provided by his special rapporteur.

It is sad to see a prominent and gifted Canadian fall from grace. Former Governor General Johnson did his job with a fog of distracting issues to protect the Liberal Party. He did not recommend an inquiry, but rather imposed himself into the middle of the scandal. Incredibly, he intends to hold more hearings himself, where he can shape the process and guide the result.

Sadly, his report is a cloud of words that admits a lot of wrongdoing by the government and others. However, to sugar-coat his bitter medicine, he rationalized at length about his trustworthiness and impartiality and spread blame everywhere ... everywhere except the Prime Minister's Office.

He gives an argument for why no formal inquiry can be held, citing problems around accommodating secret documents and classified testimony. This has not been a problem with previous inquiries. However, he does not see that the explanations and justifications that he gave are the very reasons why he should not proceed with his own hearings.

He also added political cover by saying he didn’t find evidence the Trudeau government made a conscious act to suppress or diminish the threat of Chinese interference. Presenting himself as a "father confessor," Canadians are just supposed to believe his claim.

The responsibility lies with the government to ensure Canada is dealing with hostile foreign agents and whether those challenges are being addressed. Johnson admitted, "in terms of the machinery of government, we have a lot to improve.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said: “The prime minister must listen to Parliament and call an independent public inquiry now. This inquiry must be led by someone actually independent, not a Trudeau family friend. If Trudeau refuses to do this, Jagmeet Singh and the NDP must stand with the Conservatives, put an end to their coverup coalition and hold Trudeau accountable. Justin Trudeau’s first job is to protect Canadians and protect our democracy. His repeated attempts to hide what he knew and what he did about Beijing’s interference in our democracy are shocking. It must end.”

The proper ethical course is for the prime minister to quickly say 'no' to David Johnson for further deliberations, and to immediately set in motion a formal inquiry under the Inquiries Act.

This blunder will not go away, as more information will likely come out. The political pot will continue to boil as credibility for our whole political class in Ottawa evaporates.

For political pompousness and obfuscation, Robert Burns put it nicely in the 1700s: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley/ And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy!”

“Oh, would some Power give us the gift to see ourselves as others see us! It would from many a blunder free us. And foolish notion: What airs in dress and gait would leave us, And even devotion!”