Johnston’s job is critical for Canadians

David Johnston may feel like he’s taken on a cameo role in the next “Mission Impossible” sequel. That, after all, seems to be the scale of the challenge facing him as the special rapporteur to probe election interference.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Johnston had agreed to the position to examine reports of electoral interference with the goal of “protecting and enhancing Canadians’ faith in our democracy.”

Such an announcement should have come much sooner. By initially trying to deflect and downplay the mounting concerns of election meddling, the Liberals wasted time that could instead have been used to meaningfully address the worries.

In the absence of government action, the concerns grew as did the accusations that the Liberals were deliberately stalling because they were the supposed beneficiaries of Beijing’s attempts at election gerrymandering. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre went as far to question Trudeau’s loyalty to Canada.

Faced with a steady drip-drip of revelations, the situation demanded something more substantive than the Liberals’ defence that the existing structure of government committees and national security reviews were adequate trip wires to sound the alarm.

Enter the man who from 2010 to 2017 served as Canada’s 28th governor general. Almost immediately, Johnston’s appointment was denounced by Conservatives. On Twitter, Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn), the party’s finance critic, dismissed Johnston as “another random Liberal.” It’s hard to tell if opposition MPs truly seek answers on the election file or just want to score cheap partisan points.

The political atmosphere is now so toxic it’s hard to imagine that any candidate for the role would have been deemed acceptable.

In our view, Johnston, with his record of public service, has the integrity, credibility and the skills necessary.

This constitutional professor and legal scholar has served as principal at McGill University and president at the University of Waterloo.

He drafted the terms of reference for the inquiry into Brian Mulroney’s dealings with German businessperson Karlheinz Schreiber. His appointment as governor general was made by former prime minister Stephen Harper.

As rapporteur, the government said that Johnston will have a “wide mandate to look into foreign interference in the last two federal general elections and make expert recommendations on how to further protect our democracy and uphold Canadians’ confidence in it.”

It’s all a response to reports that Beijing conducted a campaign to influence and interfere in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. It’s important to remember that while interference was identified, it did not rise to the level of swaying the outcome. But that doesn’t diminish the concerns about potential interference or answer the question whether Canada’s electoral system is fully protected against future meddling attempts.

In his role, Johnston will assess the work of two reviews already underway. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians is looking at foreign interference in federal elections and the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) is examining how Canada’s national security agencies handled those threats.

Johnston must have broad authority to make his own inquiries. In particular, the response of the Liberal government to the interference concerns must be part of his remit. What did they know and what action did they take?

Johnston must also find a resolution to the secrecy that has kept details from Canadians, denying them the opportunity to make up their own minds on the extent of election interference. If Canadians are to be confident that elections are free and fair, they will need to see this evidence for themselves.

This disturbing issue may yet require a public inquiry to provide the necessary transparency, accountability and response to future election threats.

For now, we’ll await Johnston’s assessment.