Global Courant
Former Governor General David Johnston says the atmosphere has become too partisan for his work to continue.
A government appointee investigating allegations of Chinese interference in Canada announced Friday that he was stepping down from his position, citing the highly partisan atmosphere surrounding his work.
Former Canadian Governor General David Johnston said in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that his leadership of the government’s investigation into alleged Chinese interference has failed to build trust in democratic institutions because of partisanship.
Johnston’s appointment was controversial, with opposition party leader Pierre Poilièvre accusing him of being too close to Trudeau’s family.
All opposition parties in the House of Commons have called on the government to hold a public inquiry into the allegations of foreign interference, but Johnston recently issued a report advising against it. In Friday’s announcement, Johnston also indicated that he would release a brief final report before his departure.
David Johnston did the right thing.
Now the prime minister must launch a public inquiry so that we can restore confidence in our democracy.
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) June 9, 2023
Johnston said he encourages Trudeau to appoint a “respected individual, with experience in national security” to complete the investigation and consult with opposition parties on who that should be.
The then Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Johnston Governor-General in 2010, and his term of office was extended until 2017 under the Liberal Trudeau. The Governor-General is the representative of the British monarch as head of state, a primarily ceremonial and symbolic post.
Johnston is also a former member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
Trudeau has said he was confident in Johnston’s handling of the investigation and downplayed the importance of any family ties.
Earlier this year, Canada expelled a Chinese diplomat who Canada’s intelligence agency said was involved in a plot to intimidate a conservative opposition legislator and his relatives in Hong Kong. The legislator had criticized the human rights situation in Beijing. China expelled a Canadian diplomat this month in retaliation.
China regularly uses threats against family members to intimidate critics in the Chinese diaspora.
Relations between China and Canada collapsed after China arrested former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor. That came shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of telecom giant Huawei and daughter of the company’s founder, on orders from US authorities who charged her with fraud.
