Against the background of the will of democracy and what we do not know, Trudeau still holds onto his position of NO PUBLIC ENQUIRY INTO CHINESE INTERFERENCE. Let’s talk about that as the Facts Matter.
Make No Mistake
The decision to not hold a public enquiry rests squarely on the shoulders of Trudeau. The issue of it is Johnston, who makes the decision, is only a distraction and a vein attempt by Trudeau to skirt his responsibility. Trudeau has the responsibility – no question – as his good friend, David Johnston, is only an advisor to the Prime Minister.
David Johnston’s Credibility
This is a good one. Trudeau has come out as an attack dog to suggest we are all missing the boat by calling Johnston’s credibility into question. Trudeau stated recently, “There is no basis for a lack of confidence in the (Johnston) results.” He may think so, but the rest of Canada, which parliament and the Prime Minister are supposed to represent, do not share that confidence.
This is not an attack on what Mr. Johnston has done in the past 81 years of his life; this is solely about Trudeau's conflict of interest in hiring Johnston to study the Chinese interference. Just for starters, what has David Johnston been able to hide in his China dealings by not calling for a public enquiry? To read more on this issue, please see, David Johnston escapes enquiry into his own China Dealings
Trudeau Has a Conflict of Interest
It is easy to look at Johnston and focus on his conflict of interest, and there are many, from being part of the Trudeau Foundation to all the things he has done to benefit China, to family connections in China, and long-standing personal connections with the Trudeau family – interestingly what they are now trying to downplay.
But what about Trudeau’s conflict of interest by engaging David Johnston? List all the conflicts above and more – Trudeau should have known better; he could have done better, but he did not. He went with the person he could trust to protect him the most. Yes, protect Trudeau and his secret from us.
Trudeau’s Secrets
As always happens – all one has to do is follow the mess in the United States to know there are no secrets. There are only things we do not know at this time – and Trudeau is doing his best to drag that out, hoping this will all go away. Take O’Toole’s revelation on how he was targeted. We did not know that before, but the government did. Is that just a “minor” fact Trudeau hid from us so we would not intensify pressure for an enquiry?
The question is, what is Trudeau hiding? I do not believe for one second that it is an issue of what the government knew and when. There are more sinister things at play, and with the more recent reports of the attempts to discredit O’Toole, Jennie Quan and others, one must wonder if the statements made about the past elections being secure can hold water. Maybe the results of the elections would have been different, and until a public enquiry, we cannot trust Trudeau and “his truths.”
Does this Sound Like “No Impact?”
O’Toole’s provided a “fairly full accounting of the briefing he got from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service last Friday about Beijing’s clandestine campaign to ruin him, to wreck his party’s chances in the 2021 federal election and to re-elect Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.” 1
O’Toole continued, “This was a comprehensive and sophisticated campaign, and we’re only really seeing it now because of the leaks.
Does that sound like there was no potential impact? Are we supposed to believe Trudeau on blind faith or demand a full public enquiry which this issue and we deserve?
What about the money?
Follow the money. We know of $140,000; there was supposed to be another $1 million that disappeared, and how much more has there been? I am not going to suggest that anyone was doing anything illegal, but until we have a public enquiry, that millstone will be hanging around several necks.
Dumb Statements
Trudeau must think we are all gullible, dumb, or dumber. He comes out with statements like, “There is no basis for a lack of confidence in the results.” Are we supposed to believe him on blind faith? The only thing that will give us confidence is a full public enquiry.
Or, what about the one, “We are well protected by sophisticated mechanisms...” Trudeau pointed to the suite of mechanisms that the Liberals have brought in since 2015 aimed at shoring up Canadian institutions against interference and increasing capacities to detect, deter, and counter foreign meddling attempts.
He said, “We have taken significant actions over the past eight years to increase our ability to do that."
So now the story changes; they have worked long and hard to put sophisticated mechanisms in place. How could that be when there was absolute denial that they knew nothing about this China interference issue? Trudeau caught in his own lie.
Are We All Ignorant?
Trudeau suggests that Poilievre is staying ignorant on the issue so he can continue to make political points. I wish, as a Canadian voter, I had the opportunity to be “ignorant.” Trudeau is not even giving us that chance – if there were a public enquiry and I did not participate, then Trudeau could have grounds to say I was remaining ignorant to strike political points.
Trudeau’s attack on Poilievre about being ignorant and personally attacking Johnston, which I have not seen any of, are both red herrings to distract. Just like Johnston’s appointment and his absurd position to ignore the will of democracy by staying on is enough for me to suggest who is ignorant.
Ignoring Democracy
We have a vote of 174 – 150 in support of holding a public enquiry and for Johnston to slip into the night quietly. Trudeau and Johnston have both adamantly refused to respect the democratic process. The Members of Parliament represent “you and me.” They have spoken for me and most Canadians who want Johnston gone and Trudeau to announce a full public enquiry.
The vote by “my voice and millions like me” has spoken loud and clear; we want and expect both things to happen immediately. That demand is not being ignorant or disrespectful; those are instructions, loud and clear, what the constituents want.
One of Two Things
Many speculate as to why Trudeau is so entrenched. There could be many winding parts to the reason(s), but it comes down to the glue that binds; Trudeau, his friends, and the Liberals have benefited. And that benefit does not come cheap and it does not come free.
That begs the next question what did they promise to the Chinese for their help with the elections? – whether it is favourable policy decisions, access to resources, or other things, only a full public enquiry may get us close to the answer.
What are the one of two things? One, Trudeau will call a full public enquiry, or two, the NDP will side with the Opposition, and this will become a non-confidence issue.
Thanks for reading this far. If you want a real deep dive into this stuff, I highly recommend subscribing to Terry Glavin on Substack. It is free, and you can find Terry by clicking here
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