David Johnston has been appointed special rapporteur to look into the question of whether or not China interfered in our elections. Susan Delacourt writes:

His task now is to look at all that’s being alleged about China’s attempts to meddle in Canada’s political process, and to assess whether an inquiry is needed and what form that inquiry will take if it does happen.

It’s not a small task. Essentially, Johnston first has to airlift this whole foreign-interference story out of the partisan mess where it now resides. The sooner the better. Conservatives were piling on to Johnston’s appointment in the immediate aftermath of the announcement, raising doubts about this statesman’s legitimacy in the same way they’ve been sowing doubts about everything from the prime minister’s loyalty to the results of the last two elections. If nothing else, that knee-jerk reaction demonstrated exactly why this controversy needs some adult supervision, now.

Conservatives conveniently forget that it was Stephen Harper who appointed him Governor-General:

Johnston was an excellent governor general from 2010 to 2017 — appointed by then-prime minister Stephen Harper — and then went on to head up the commission that oversaw federal election debates in 2019 and 2021. Trudeau’s government clearly sees him as uniquely qualified to be a non-partisan referee in a polarized political world — so unique, one wonders, that there are no others like him?

Johnston has also done a job like this before. In 2007, Harper asked him to sort out how to handle an inquiry into financial dealings between German businessman Karlheinz-Schreiber and former prime minister Brian Mulroney. That, too, for those who have forgotten, was a controversy with its own shades of alleged foreign interference, so that counts as experience on Johnston’s CV.

Five years ago, Johnston published a book with the simple title, Trust, in which he wrote:

“An important distinction must be made between manipulation and persuasion. The worst leaders manipulate by failing to disclose vital information or by disclosing only the information that supports their views, decisions and actions. The best leaders persuade in great part by being open about their motives and goals.” 

Words to live by.

Image: Wikipedia