David Johnston will take up the post as Ottawa’s “special rapporteur” to investigate allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections and society.
Johnston, who served as the nation’s governor general from 2010 to 2017, was named by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday as the prominent Canadian who will probe the interference issue and make recommendations to the federal government on how to handle it.
The Liberal government has been under immense pressure to explain what it knew about foreign interference in the 2021 election after the Globe and Mail reported last month that intelligence sources said China attempted to interfere in that campaign to help the Liberals win another minority government.
That report came after months of revelations from Global News about allegations of Chinese interference in the 2019 election.
Trudeau recently announced a slew of investigations into the matter, but the creation of the special rapporteur position was billed by the government as a key measure.
Now that Canadians know who the government’s rapporteur will be, here’s a look at Johnston’s background and the work he’s expected to do.
Who is David Johnston?
Johnston, 81, was named as governor general by then-Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2010, and his term was extended when Trudeau was elected in 2015.
He left Rideau Hall in 2017 and currently serves as the Leaders’ Debates Commissioner, which arranges debates during Canada’s federal elections. He will step down from that position to take on the rapporteur role, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Prior to his role as governor general, Johnston was a professor of constitutional law for 45 years and is a highly respected Canadian legal scholar. He has also chaired or served on many provincial and federal task forces and committees, and has served on the boards of more than a dozen public companies, the PMO said.
In 2007, Harper named Johnston as a special advisor charged with drafting the terms of reference for a public inquiry into the Airbus affair, which became the Oliphant Commission.
He’s also an author, with 25 published books and a new one looking at the role of empathy in Canadian society released in January 2023.
Johnston is also a member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, according to the organization’s website. The charity recently made headlines after it returned a $200,000 donation it received seven years ago following a Globe and Mail report alleging a potential connection to Beijing.
The foundation funds awards and fellowships for doctoral research in the social sciences and humanities. Other members of the foundation include Trudeau’s brother, Alexandre Trudeau, along with prominent current and former leaders from financial institutions, top universities, a former Saskatchewan premier, constitutional experts, lawyers and writers. Its board of directors includes the former lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, a former mayor of Iqaluit, and leaders from prominent Canadian universities and firms.
It is funded mainly through a $125-million endowment received from the federal government in 2002 and like all registered charities in Canada, is prohibited by law from engaging in any political activity, including funding any entity — parties, candidates, nominees, riding associations – registered with Elections Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has had no involvement with the foundation, set up in his late father’s memory, since 2013.
What will he do as special rapporteur on foreign interference?
According to the PMO, Johnston will have a “wide mandate” to investigate foreign interference in the last two federal elections, and will make recommendations “on how to further protect our democracy and uphold Canadians’ confidence in it.”
Whether an inquiry should be called, or if a different kind of independent process like a judicial review is more appropriate, will be one of the questions Johnston will have to decide.
Opposition leaders and outside experts have been calling for the federal government to launch a public inquiry into the matter. Instead of calling one, Trudeau tasked the special rapporteur with the responsibility to recommend one or not.
The PMO said the federal government will “will comply with and implement his public recommendations, which could include a formal inquiry, a judicial review, or another independent review process.”
His mandate will be finalized in the coming days, it added.
Trudeau has also tasked the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians with probing foreign interference in the last two elections, as well as other ongoing processes.
In addition to those measures, Johnston will “identify any remaining gaps or areas requiring further attention to protect the integrity of Canada’s democracy,” the PMO said.
How long will his work take?
It’s unclear how long Johnston will serve in the role, but the federal government has been under pressure to act quickly.
Meanwhile, political reaction to Johnston’s naming has been pouring in.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has previously scoffed at the idea of a special rapporteur, saying it sounds like a “fake job,” and doubled down on the need for a public inquiry in the name of transparency.
In a statement Thursday, Poilievre said Trudeau must “end his cover up,” and criticized the prime minister for tapping another Trudeau Foundation member.
Despite Johnston being named as governor general under a Conservative prime minister, Poilievre’s tweet echoes opposition attacks on the government’s appointment of Morris Rosenberg, a former senior public servant and CEO of the Trudeau Foundation, to author a report into foreign interference in the 2021 election.
Has released last month, and he determined that there was no foreign interference that “threatened Canada’s ability to have a free and fair election” in 2021, while noting there was foreign interference that did not meet the threshold of alerting the public.
The PMO stated Johnston’s naming to the role followed “consultations” with all parties in the House of Commons.
On Thursday Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Johnston is “close” to Trudeau, and called the idea a “superfluous” waste of time, since opposition parties will still demand a public inquiry.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said on Thursday that Johnston is someone of “integrity,” and called his appointment a “positive step.”
However, he said he wants to ensure Johnston’s mandate is broad enough.
“I do want to make clear that I want to make sure that that Mr. Johnston has a broad enough mandate to answer the fundamental questions that Canadians have: What did the Prime Minister know, when did he know it and what did he do about it when it comes to foreign interference?” he said.
“I still believe that Mr. Johnston has to launch a public inquiry to have that public and independent response that provides Canadians with confidence in our electoral system.”
Meanwhile, Trudeau said in a statement Wednesday that Johnston “brings integrity and a wealth of experience and skills” to the role.
“I am confident that he will conduct an impartial review to ensure all necessary steps are being taken to keep our democracy safe and uphold and strengthen confidence in it,” he said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
