I’m mighty miffed that David Johnston, special rapporteur extraordinaire on the foreign interference file, has been pretty successfully smeared by Pierre Poilievre as a tool of the Liberals and the left. How horribly unjust.
By any decent historical standards he should’ve been permanently stained over the past two decades as a reliable tool of the Conservative right. Why?
Back in 2007, PM Stephen Harper, the smarter and more menacing version of Pierre Poilievre (who was part of Harper’s government) had a big problem. His own right-wing predecessor, Brian Mulroney, had been caught taking wads of cash in hotel rooms. Some kind of hearing was unavoidable but Harper wanted to suppress the scuzzy reasons behind it all so he hired David Johnston to “frame” the terms of a hearing.
Johnston did so, excluding any questions about motive since that ground had been “well-tilled,” which it hadn’t. Harper was so pleased that he said whatever they paid Johnston hadn’t been enough. Harper was in a minority and had a governor-general, Michaëlle Jean, not entirely responsive to his needs if an election led to a political crunch. So he appointed Johnston as next GG. Patently implied subservience to Canada’s right-wingest PM ever is surely what should’ve lastingly tarnished Johnston’s reputation.
Yet, in the only act of his that I consider bold and unexpected, Poilievre has ignored that history of pro-Conservative vassalage by Johnston and cast him as a 100 per cent lifelong tool of Liberals like Justin Trudeau, his “ski buddy.” And it worked! Never underestimate the power of the historical memory hole.
Johnston had one great card to play against Poilievre: Hey, look, I served you guys well and faithfully. Instead he went with his CV and accolades, as in a sappy plea to the Star editorial board: “ … follow the facts … be as honest as you can … look your kids in the eye and say … and your grandchildren — your grandpa did the right thing … that sounds hokey but that’s how I lived (my) life.”
The guy still thinks he’s playing James Stewart in the Canadian version of It’s a Wonderful Life. Though Stewart would never have done a scene where he tells his grandkids how great a guy he is. (That’s why generations loved Stewart, even though he happily served as a highly ideological Cold War icon in films glorifying the FBI and Strategic Air Command, institutions once again resonant.)
Johnston has always been a tad dim. As GG, he pulled a major gaffe by calling Indigenous Peoples “immigrants,” which invoked a long-standing right-wing talking point against land claims etc. He had to apologize.
In his rapport this week he focused hard on China’s role, though I’d say he’d been expected to diffuse any racist potential in the interference issue. He told CBC that “Chinese influence” had “come upon us like a tsunami” — managing to avoid a strictly Chinese image but still landing on a regional Asian one. Hurricane or tidal wave would’ve sufficed. He’s dumber than your average distinguished Canadian.
I’m still agnostic on a public judicial inquiry. I think it depends on what you see as the issue. If you think it’s foreign interference, not just in elections, but even more in matters like dissident politics by diaspora members, then I think enough is known. It’s sufficiently horrifying to get right down to criminally charging people, expelling diplomats and making sure the laws are adequate. The focus should be on action and stopping this intimidation garbage fast.
OTOH, if you think Justin Trudeau is a knowing Chinese agent or at least a willing dupe, as Pierre Poilievre says (“We know Justin Trudeau has something to hide … Beijing interfered to help him win the election …”) then appoint a judge and have at it. Personally, though, I’ve never seen the impartial magic in black-robed folk who sit a level above everyone else, get called by hoary honorifics and bowed to by lawyers whenever they exit. Still, À chacun son gout.
This column originally appeared in the Toronto Star.
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