Rapporteur David Johnson, Eminent Canadian

pgs

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The point would be they'd know and they could in a broad sense without going into specifics that yes Jonston was right or no, he got it wrong.

Classified is that for a reason, you can't just make that shit public, and considering this is about China, a 'world power', ANY form of slip up or fuckery could bite Canada in the ass.

I'd rather people get clearance then look/read the stuff, and come out to say "yes he's right, no he's not" and go with that, than outright say "No I won't be a part of it because what's the point if you can't say anything?"

Which is also ironic to me because that's why Jonston doesn't think a public inquiry will work; too many secrets that can't be told.
Are you suggesting national security issues as to when the PM or his office received briefings on China from our security establishment ? Or are you suggesting that the liberal government is lily white ?
 
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pgs

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Bipartisanship; sure, why not? In the end, he *was* respected enough to be in the positions he was for a while. Now suddenly he's not trusted because Trudeau appointed him to do a job? If it had been PM Poilievre that appointed him, would it be an issue then? I was listening to a Conservative strategist on the news and he pretty much said it was PP making a big deal out of this for no reason other than politics. There's no legit reason for the controversy.
If you believe foreign dollars funding election campaigns is no big deal .
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

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Bipartisanship; sure, why not? In the end, he *was* respected enough to be in the positions he was for a while. Now suddenly he's not trusted because Trudeau appointed him to do a job? If it had been PM Poilievre that appointed him, would it be an issue then? I was listening to a Conservative strategist on the news and he pretty much said it was PP making a big deal out of this for no reason other than politics. There's no legit reason for the controversy.
Everybody at that level has a political bias. To appoint someone that matches yours is not bipartisan. Even if he can be trusted to hold a truly honest hearing since he is a Liberal appointed by a Liberal there will always be an appearance of bias. If PP has appointed him, this appearance would have been removed as the political stripe was different (even if he had the same investigation). If TrueDope wanted to really have a true investigation he would have appointed someone without connections to him, his family or the Liberal Party.
 

petros

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Its all good that Johnston has shit on Trudeau's home toilet but it all great cuz Conservatives something something Christian Muzzie, Jew Buddist Hindu trucker anti abortion trans kids dieing.. Hey look...Trump.
 

Serryah

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Everybody at that level has a political bias. To appoint someone that matches yours is not bipartisan. Even if he can be trusted to hold a truly honest hearing since he is a Liberal appointed by a Liberal there will always be an appearance of bias. If PP has appointed him, this appearance would have been removed as the political stripe was different (even if he had the same investigation). If TrueDope wanted to really have a true investigation he would have appointed someone without connections to him, his family or the Liberal Party.

Wow, funny how, when I look into the man, this exact same issue happened before in his life.

Only it was the Libs bitching and crying over him being PM Mulroney's man.

Now it's switched.

If anything, I'd say this makes the man more likely to be unbiased as both sides have hated him over the course of his life.
 

Ron in Regina

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It is what it is. Maybe this is another one of those things that will have to be looked back at in decades to come in a historical perspective to have the next generation shake their heads about what’s happening here & now.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he will not call an independent public inquiry into Chinese interference in Canadian politics after former governor-general David Johnston recommended against one.

Mr. Johnston, who was asked by Mr. Trudeau in March to lead an investigation into foreign meddling in the 2019 and 2021 elections, said in his report tabled Tuesday that such interference is an “increasing threat to our democratic system,” and China is “particularly active.”

CSIS will get thrown under the bus. Whistle Blowers will get punished. Thankfully there’s Bill’s like C-11 to ensure things like this or SNC-Lavalin never enter the headlines of the media going forward, etc…

“I have not found examples of ministers, the Prime Minister or their offices knowingly ignoring intelligence, advice or recommendations on foreign interference or being driven by partisan considerations in dealing with these issues,”

Mr. Johnston decried the leaks, calling them “destructive and dangerous” and saying it is a “matter of urgency” that the leakers be caught. “These hearings will not focus on ‘who knew what and what did they do about it,’ " Mr. Johnston said.

I bet Trudeau is kicking himself that he didn’t think up the ‘Special Reporteur’ option in the early days of the SNC-Debacle or several others. Sets another precedent for future governments like the use of the Emergencies Act.

David Johnston – the former Governor General turned “special rapporteur” for the Trudeau government – has decided that foreign interference is not a bad enough problem to warrant a full-blown public inquiry.

He obviously didn’t use those words specifically. “I have concluded that a Public Inquiry would not be the best way forward,” was what he told a Tuesday press conference. Despite numerous press reports detailing instances in which the Trudeau government failed to act on CSIS warnings about electoral interference, Johnston seemed to imply that the real culprit is shoddy journalism. “The specific instances of interference are less concerning than some media reporting has suggested and, in some cases, the true story is quite different,” he said.

Instead, Johnston himself is going to spend the next five months holding a travelling series of public hearings in which “all interested parties” can show up and air their grievances about foreign interference.

Holding a public inquiry into foreign interference is actually one of the few issues on which all of the opposition parties agree. “Nothing short of an independent public inquiry on foreign interference is good enough,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on Tuesday, adding “I’m deeply disappointed in the rapporteur’s report.” A particularly blunt statement from the Conservative Party bore the headline “Trudeau’s Fake Rapporteur Continues Interference Coverup.” Even the Bloc Québécois has repeatedly called for an inquiry, even though the main interference allegations have not targeted their candidates or even occurred within Quebec borders.

Johnston’s supposed impartiality has been a topic of criticism from Day One. For starters, he used to be a fellow with the Trudeau Foundation, an organization plunged into controversy over allegations that it took money from Chinese donors looking to peddle influence with the prime minister. Second, he actually has pretty close ties to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. While Johnston was recommended for the Governor General job by a Conservative, Stephen Harper, he’s known Trudeau since the latter was a child and the prime minister has long considered him a “family friend.”

The former Governor General was asked directly on Monday how he could have conducted an impartial probe given his known links to the incumbent government. Johnston replied that he had taken up the matter with a retired Supreme Court Justice, Frank Iacobucci, who told him “that there was no conflict of interest with respect to the true obligations.” Iacobucci, incidentally, also happens to be a former Trudeau Foundation mentor. 😉

The core of the interference allegations is that Chinese agents orchestrated subversive campaign maneuvers with the goal of defeating Conservative candidates in favour of Liberal ones.

Despite being the head of the Conservative Party when this was allegedly all happening, Erin O’Toole said in a blog post that Johnston had already finished his report and submitted it for French translation when the two finally sat down for their first meeting. “I was left with the clear impression that my meeting was nothing more than a box checking exercise,” wrote O’Toole. ????

The completely independent special rapporteur on foreign interference, David Johnston, published his report on attempted Chinese state shenanigans against Canadian democracy. And to everyone’s great astonishment, Johnston, an old friend of the prime minister, has found no fault anywhere in the federal cabinet or the Prime Minister’s Office. Nor will he recommend a public inquiry into the topic. The ship of state, we are assured on the basis of the ex-governor general’s review of its secrets, is right on course, with a few harmless slip-ups he attributes (conveniently, one must say) to the awkward multiplicity of the civil service. Nothing to see here, move along.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has said that although he already benefits from this security clearance as a former minister and member of the Privy Council, he said he would “not allow the government to silence leaders of the opposition by swearing them to secrecy.”

Johnston’s decision was widely condemned by all opposition parties, which have been calling in unison for a public inquiry on foreign interference and increasing pressure to ensure that the government follows this route. In recent months, the Conservatives, NDP and the Bloc managed to pass a motion at PROC and in the House of Commons calling for such an inquiry.

The problem is that Johnston’s perceived conflict of interest because of his personal relationship with the prime minister has been compounded by a report that finds the government was blameless at all times. Even the “significant governance shortcomings” were the fault of the security agencies and the bureaucracy.
 

Ron in Regina

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The point would be they'd know and they could in a broad sense without going into specifics that yes Jonston was right or no, he got it wrong.
And they wouldn’t be able to comment one way or the other about it. Muzzled under penalty of law.
Classified is that for a reason, you can't just make that shit public, and considering this is about China, a 'world power', ANY form of slip up or fuckery could bite Canada in the ass.
Depending on “why” something is secret.
I'd rather people get clearance then look/read the stuff, and come out to say "yes he's right, no he's not" and go with that, than outright say "No I won't be a part of it because what's the point if you can't say anything?"
But you can’t. You would be sworn to secrecy. The first question at the press conference was why couldn’t a judge examine allegations in camera, as has happened in the past, and why didn’t he recommend that, instead of proposing open public hearings of little consequence?

He ducked that one. But he emphasized that opposition parties could examine classified documents to determine whether there was wrongdoing — but the Official Secrets Act means they would never be able to comment publicly on them. Another Catch-22 ambush, designed to offer disclosure if they agreed to a permanent muzzle.
Which is also ironic to me because that's why Jonston doesn't think a public inquiry will work; too many secrets that can't be told.
It is ironic.
 

Hoof Hearted

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Sadly I was born with RGF...Resting Gullible Face.

I could be in a crowd of 500 people and that one bum who wants a smoke or some money would crowd surf like being in a mosh pit to get to me and shake me down.
 

Hoof Hearted

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A while back I posted on my other forum...

"The word gullible isn't really a word. You won't find it in any dictionary."

So this woman posts in...

"It is so! I just checked the Oxford English Dictionary and you are wrong!"

Everyone was laughing. ;)
 

Tecumsehsbones

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A while back I posted on my other forum...

"The word gullible isn't really a word. You won't find it in any dictionary."

So this woman posts in...

"It is so! I just checked the Oxford English Dictionary and you are wrong!"

Everyone was laughing. ;)
So, she's happy because she's RIGHT! and everybody else gets a good chuckle out of it.

It's a win all around!
 
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Jinentonix

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Wow, funny how, when I look into the man, this exact same issue happened before in his life.

Only it was the Libs bitching and crying over him being PM Mulroney's man.

Now it's switched.

If anything, I'd say this makes the man more likely to be unbiased as both sides have hated him over the course of his life.
Nope. He has some pretty close ties with China so we shouldn't be surprised that "no public inquiry is needed".