Trudeau to let Telford testify after weeks of drama, election threat

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The Trudeau Liberals went from warning against the end of Parliamentary democracy and threatening an election on Monday, to letting Katie Telford testify on Tuesday. It was quite the turnaround for a government that seemed determined not to let Trudeau’s chief of staff appear before a Commons committee under any circumstances.

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Let’s hope that we can find out more about what the government knew about China’s electoral interference and when. Though, holding your breath on that would probably lead to a bad outcome.

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“In an effort to make Parliament work, Ms. Telford has agreed to appear at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee as part of their study,” Trudeau’s office said in a statement, while also warning she is heavily restricted in what she can say.

The statement came out just as Liberal members of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee, which is studying China’s election meddling, suddenly stopped their filibuster. For more than 24 hours of committee hearings over the previous three weeks, Liberal MPs had given long speeches in a successful attempt to run out the clock and stop a vote calling on Telford to testify.

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Over those three weeks, Liberal MPs bristled at the suggestion that they were blocking Telford’s appearance under orders from Trudeau’s office. Yet, as soon as the PMO was willing to let Telford appear, the Liberals stopped the filibuster.

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Trudeau, the ringmaster of the circus that Parliament has been the past several weeks over this issue, accused the Conservatives of “ginning up a partisan circus,” by demanding the Liberal government answer questions about China’s election meddling. The way to end all of this, answer questions clearly and directly. If Trudeau did that, the Conservatives wouldn’t have anything left to gripe about.

Instead, he’s blocked, delayed and obfuscated since this story of election interference broke last November.

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Also on Tuesday, Trudeau released the mandate of David Johnston, his special rapporteur on election interference. It requires Johnston to recommend whether to hold a public inquiry by May 23 — two months from now — with a final report on his work due by Oct. 31.

Remember, this story broke Nov. 7, 2022, and has grown and expanded in detail since then, but the basics remain the same. The Trudeau government was briefed about election interference by CSIS and other intelligence agencies more than a year ago and they did nothing about it because it helped the Liberal Party.

By the time Johnston files his final report on Oct. 31, it will have been 51 weeks since the story broke in the media.

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If Johnston recommends a public inquiry on May 23, it will take the Trudeau government weeks — if not months — to appoint someone and set out their terms of reference. Once that is done, it will take the inquiry months to hire staff, rent office space and set up logistics, all before they hear any witness testimony.

By the time the inquiry hears from everyone involved and the final report is written, it will be 2025, and another election may already have happened.

We didn’t need a special rapporteur to advise on a public inquiry; we just needed Trudeau to call one headed up by someone truly independent of him and his party, not someone who is a skiing buddy of him and his family or linked to the Trudeau Foundation.

Alternatively, he could have let the committee do its work in the Commons.

Trudeau’s hope is to delay as long as possible, in the hopes that Canadians forget about this story as the blistering headlines fade and the warm summer weather is upon us. If his hand wasn’t forced with Telford on Tuesday, she wouldn’t be testifying, either.

Article content

The Trudeau Liberals went from warning against the end of Parliamentary democracy and threatening an election on Monday, to letting Katie Telford testify on Tuesday. It was quite the turnaround for a government that seemed determined not to let Trudeau’s chief of staff appear before a Commons committee under any circumstances.

Article content

Let’s hope that we can find out more about what the government knew about China’s electoral interference and when. Though, holding your breath on that would probably lead to a bad outcome.

Article content

“In an effort to make Parliament work, Ms. Telford has agreed to appear at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee as part of their study,” Trudeau’s office said in a statement, while also warning she is heavily restricted in what she can say.

The statement came out just as Liberal members of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee, which is studying China’s election meddling, suddenly stopped their filibuster. For more than 24 hours of committee hearings over the previous three weeks, Liberal MPs had given long speeches in a successful attempt to run out the clock and stop a vote calling on Telford to testify.

Article content

Article content

Over those three weeks, Liberal MPs bristled at the suggestion that they were blocking Telford’s appearance under orders from Trudeau’s office. Yet, as soon as the PMO was willing to let Telford appear, the Liberals stopped the filibuster.

Recommended video

Trudeau, the ringmaster of the circus that Parliament has been the past several weeks over this issue, accused the Conservatives of “ginning up a partisan circus,” by demanding the Liberal government answer questions about China’s election meddling. The way to end all of this, answer questions clearly and directly. If Trudeau did that, the Conservatives wouldn’t have anything left to gripe about.

Instead, he’s blocked, delayed and obfuscated since this story of election interference broke last November.

Article content

Also on Tuesday, Trudeau released the mandate of David Johnston, his special rapporteur on election interference. It requires Johnston to recommend whether to hold a public inquiry by May 23 — two months from now — with a final report on his work due by Oct. 31.

Remember, this story broke Nov. 7, 2022, and has grown and expanded in detail since then, but the basics remain the same. The Trudeau government was briefed about election interference by CSIS and other intelligence agencies more than a year ago and they did nothing about it because it helped the Liberal Party.

By the time Johnston files his final report on Oct. 31, it will have been 51 weeks since the story broke in the media.

Article content

If Johnston recommends a public inquiry on May 23, it will take the Trudeau government weeks — if not months — to appoint someone and set out their terms of reference. Once that is done, it will take the inquiry months to hire staff, rent office space and set up logistics, all before they hear any witness testimony.

By the time the inquiry hears from everyone involved and the final report is written, it will be 2025, and another election may already have happened.

We didn’t need a special rapporteur to advise on a public inquiry; we just needed Trudeau to call one headed up by someone truly independent of him and his party, not someone who is a skiing buddy of him and his family or linked to the Trudeau Foundation.

Alternatively, he could have let the committee do its work in the Commons.

Trudeau’s hope is to delay as long as possible, in the hopes that Canadians forget about this story as the blistering headlines fade and the warm summer weather is upon us. If his hand wasn’t forced with Telford on Tuesday, she wouldn’t be testifying, either.