A lawyer from Toronto who helped David Johnston in his investigation of alleged misconduct by Chinese agents refused to comment on her connections to the Liberal Party on Wednesday. . David Johnston First Report .Democracy Watch, an advocacy group, filed an ethics complaint against lawyer Sheila Block..“I retained Sheila Block of Torys LLP to assist me in obtaining, reviewing and analyzing the materials that I expected to receive as well as assisting with interviews,” Johnston wrote Tuesday in his First Report..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Block is a partner in the Toronto law firm. She was named to the Order of Canada last December 29. Democracy Watch identified Elections Canada filings showing a regular Liberal Party donor “Sheila Block” of Toronto contributed $7,593 from 2006 to October 27..Block yesterday did not respond to questions..“It is a violation of the Conflict of Interest Act to participate in any decision or action when there is an opportunity to further your own interests or the interests of a friend,” Democracy Watch wrote in a statement. .“Both Justin Trudeau and David Johnston are covered by the Act.”.In his report, Johnston absolved the prime minister and cabinet of any blameworthy conduct in handling security memos that warned of Chinese interference in Canada. Johnston also concluded a public inquiry “would not be productive” though the Commons on March 23 voted 172 to 149 for an independent investigation..On Wednesday, Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters that the Canadians were unsatisfied with Johnston’s report..“This is a tiny club of Trudeau insiders who got rich and powerful by making everyone else poorer and weaker,” said Poilievre..“They’re better off, everyone else is worse off. They protect themselves while no one in the government protects Canadians.”.The House Affairs committee meets on Thursday to discuss Johnston’s report. The committee voted on March 30 to ask that Johnston “appear alone before the committee” for questioning. .“We have everybody’s agreement,” said Liberal MP Bardish Chagger (Waterloo, ON), committee chair..On March 15, Johnston was appointed by the prime minister as an advisor on suspected election fraud involving Chinese agents. MPs from all opposition parties questioned Johnston’s appointment at the time..“Should David Johnston return anything less than a recommendation for an open and transparent public, independent inquiry led by someone agreed to by all parties, it will be completely reasonable for Canadians to ask if the fix was in,” Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew-Nipissing, ON) earlier told the Commons.
