Government of Canada launches foreign interference inquiry

A Quebec judge will head a public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference in Canada’s affairs over the next 16 months, according to Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

LeBlanc says Justice Marie-Josée Hogue will start leading the probe on Sept. 18 and support all recognized parties in the House of Commons.

The inquiry will examine meddling by China, Russia and other foreign states and non-state actors.

“China is not the only country that seeks to interfere in an inappropriate way, and we wanted the commission and Justice Hogue to have the ability to follow the evidence, as she is brought up-to-date by our intelligence agencies,” says LeBlanc.

Hogue will also be able to access to any secure records she deems necessary to look at foreign interference allegations in the last two federal elections, including cabinet confidences.

The first interim report is due by the end of February 2024 and a final report is due by the end of December 2024.

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LeBlanc said it’s up to Hogue to consult with her own chosen legal experts to determine whether parts of the inquiry will be held in public and who will be called to testify.

He says the government intends to be “available and forthcoming” for Hogue.

“She will decide what particular matters she will hear in-camera, what will be public hearings,” LeBlanc said, adding that all parties hope parts of the hearings will be public early on in the process.

Opposition parties have been demanding a public inquiry for months over allegations that the Liberals failed to properly monitor and respond to attempted meddling by Beijing.

They say they need clarity on how entrenched the issue is and if the government has adequately protected Canada’s democracy.

Officials, however, say Canada maintained the overall integrity of the 2019 and 2021 elections.

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LeBlanc says Hogue does not have “detailed experience” in national-security matters, arguing it’s an asset for her to come to the issue with a fresh set of eyes.

Hogue was a consensus choice among the parties, and her rank involves rulings that often establish precedents in Canadian law.

“We believe Justice Hogue has all of the necessary experience, credentials and judgment to lead this important work. That view was shared by some of the country’s most senior jurists with whom we’ve spoken,” LeBlanc says.

Hogue’s biography on the website of the Court of Appeal of Quebec says her main areas of practice have been corporate commercial litigation, civil litigation and professional liability. She has also done work administrative and constitutional law.

In May, the government confirmed a media report that CSIS in 2021 had detected a plot by China to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.

The Trudeau government expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei after sustained uproar in Parliament.

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This spring, the Liberals initially named former governor general David Johnston as a special rapporteur to examine the issue and promised to follow his recommendations, including if he called for a public inquiry.

However Johnston was against an inquiry, saying that so many details could not be made public due to national security implications. This would not give Canadians the answers they want.

His report in May, concluded that Trudeau’s government didn’t deliberately or negligently fail to act on foreign attempts to interfere in the last two federal elections.

Johnston also says that Trudeau hadn’t been briefed about specific allegations — though he also found that serious reforms were needed to improve the way government handles sensitive intelligence.

The NDP and Green Party say they are willing to abide by strict security clearances in order to weigh the confidential documents Johnston reviewed to reach his conclusions around what Trudeau knew.

Johnston resigned as special rapporteur shortly after the release of his report, citing the highly partisan atmosphere that had surrounded his work.