Special rapporteur David Johnston stopped short of calling for a public inquiry on Chinese election interference because of classified material would make it impossible..But Johnston gave five other recommendations Tuesday morning..First, Johnston said foreign government interference is a “real and growing threat.”.Second, the media “misconstrued” their reporting of the relevant intelligence reports..Third, there are “serious shortcomings” in transferring intelligence from the security agencies to the federal government..Fourth, a “further government process is required” but not a public inquiry because of the sensitive issues surrounding intelligence reports..Finally, Johnston said there will be “skepticism from some” even though they “raise legitimate issues.” A review is required but not publicly. .Johnston said “a public inquiry would have been the easy choice, but not the right choice.”.The second part of the mandate to come is holding public hearings..Johnston opened the press conference by saying Canadians must trust our institutions to trust our elections..“Our democracy is built on trust, trust in our institutions, our governments and our fellow Canadians,” said Johnston..“Unfortunately, recent allegations of foreign interference have threatened that trust, raising legitimate questions and also undermining our confidence in our government's ability or willingness to protect our democracy.”.Johnston does explain his connection to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as mainly when Trudeau was younger, as his children skied with the Trudeau children..The two had contact when Johnston was the Governor General until 2017, but only in an “official capacity.” ."For 40 years, I had no contact with Justin Trudeau, those are the facts,” said Johnston..Johnston asked for a meeting with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative leader in the past election Erin O’Toole. Poilievre declined the meeting and O’Toole agreed..O’Toole found out during the meeting that Johnston’s report was at French translation services..“With this in mind, you might understand how disappointed I was to learn halfway through my meeting that Johnston’s report was already undergoing French translation,” said O’Toole..“I was flabbergasted and realized that nothing I was going to provide to the special rapporteur was going to impact his work.”.O’Toole stated that the meeting felt like “a box checking exercise” and not an attempt to complete a full report of what happened..“I was left with the clear impression that my meeting was nothing more than a box checking exercise,” said O’Toole..Johnston said he contacted Poilievre four times and received no response. He wanted to talk with the Conservatives and reached out to O’Toole..Johnston said he has “great respect [and] knows very well” O’Toole, who has military and security clearance..“Mr. O’Toole’s advice was reflected in the final report,” said Johnston..On February 17, the Globe and Mail released an in-depth report on China’s plan to defeat Conservative politicians in certain ridings. .Several Canadian politicians resigned from their political parties, including MPP Vincent Ke from the Ontario PC caucus on March 10 and MP Han Dong from the Liberal caucus on March 22..On March 15, Johnston was appointed as the special rapporteur..Johnston’s mandate as special rapporteur for Chinese election interference had three main parts reported today..First, Johnston had to assess the extent and impact of foreign election meddling..Second, Johnston reviewed the federal government’s response in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections..Finally, Johnston was to make recommendations to deal with foreign meddling..Another Globe and Mail report on May 1 showed the Chinese government targeted MP Michael Chong and his family. Canada expelled Chinese spy Zhao Wei, who led the campaign against Chong..China expelled a Canadian diplomat from Shanghai in response to Canada's expulsion.
