Canada’s House of Commons passed a motion on Wednesday calling upon the independent special rapporteur appointed by the Government examining alleged interference by China in Federal elections to “step aside from his role”.
The motion was supported by opposition parties and opposed by the ruling Liberals, and garnered 174 votes for and 150 against.
The special rapporteur, former Governor General David Johnston, stated in an interim report in May that while foreign governments were attempting to influence voters and candidates, there was no need for a public inquiry.
Johnston issued a statement in response. “I deeply respect the right of the House of Commons to express its opinion about my work going forward, but my mandate comes from the Government. I have a duty to pursue that work until my mandate is completed,” he said.
His tenure ends in October, when he is expected to submit a final report.
He was also defended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who said the special rapporteur had taken the responsibility “incredibly seriously” and accused the opposition of trying to score “partisan points” through the motion.
The motion noted the special rapporteur had recommended against holding a public inquiry “despite noting significant gaps and leaving many questions either unasked or unanswered.” It added that “serious questions have been raised” about the “process.”
Asking Johnston to “step aside from his role”, it called upon the Government to “urgently establish public commission of inquiry” which would be led by an individual “selected with unanimous support from all recognised parties in the House”.
However, the motion is non-binding, like the one passed in March calling for a public inquiry.
The special rapporteur was appointed on March 6 after a series of reports in the outlets Globe and Mail and Global News that Beijing may have tried to influence Federal elections in Canada.
A series of exposes have placed sustained pressure on the Trudeau Government. On February 17, the Globe and Mail noted, “China employed a sophisticated strategy to disrupt Canada’s democracy in the 2021 federal election campaign as Chinese diplomats and their proxies backed the re-election of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals – but only to another minority government – and worked to defeat Conservative politicians considered to be unfriendly to Beijing.” That report was based on intelligence documents.
