NDP Confident interference investigation will come, but details are still being negotiated

Canadians can be confident there will be a public inquiry into foreign interference, New Democratic House leader Peter Julian said Thursday.

Opposition parties wanted the government to announce the inquiry before the House of Commons rose for summer recess, and over the past two weeks Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc has held intense talks to find a consensus between the parties for an inquiry.

But there was unanimous permission for the House of Commons to rise on Wednesday, two days ahead of schedule, without such an agreement. MPs do not return to their seats until September 18.

Investigative negotiations continued Thursday, with LeBlanc meeting again with House leaders.

“As we’re having these discussions about the shape of that public inquiry, I’m very confident we’ll get there,” Julian said in an interview.

“We can be optimistic that that public inquiry will take place after some further discussion.”

He would not give details about what the sticking points are in the talks or when he thinks things can be resolved. He did say he feels it NDP helped get to this point.

Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet said on Wednesday he thought a deal could take a few days or even just a few hours. Government House leader Mark Holland said he thought matters could be decided “very quickly”.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilièvre insists he will not provide input on a possible commissioner or job description until the government commits to actually launching an investigation.

The government has adamantly rejected a public inquiry without the opposition parties agreeing on the details.

They want to avoid the intense criticism that followed their decision to appoint former Governor General David Johnston as a special rapporteur to look into the matter.

Opposition parties were outraged when Johnston advised against an inquiry last month, and the Conservatives and Bloc speared the Liberals for the nomination of Johnston, who they say was too closely linked to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be impartial.

Johnston then announced he would step down after issuing a final report at the end of June. And then LeBlanc was instructed by Trudeau to work with opposition parties on a way forward.

Details about who will lead an investigation, what it will look at and the timeline are all part of the ongoing negotiations.

Julian noted that the opposition parties supported two of them NDP motions for a public inquiry, and the most recent, on May 31, called on the House Committee on Procedures — which MPs call PROC for short — to elect a commissioner and recommend what the inquiry’s mandate should be.

“I’m optimistic that PROC won’t have to if we come to an agreement,” he said.

That motion also called for the investigation to look into attempts at foreign interference by several countries, including China, Russia and Iran.

The Liberals did their best to highlight their achievements in the waning days of this parliamentary session, despite the chaos that unfolded as the government struggled to address allegations that Beijing attempted to interfere in the last two federal elections.

All parties agree that the outcome of the election was not affected by those efforts, but believe a public inquiry is needed to ensure Canada is prepared to withstand future attempts.

Holland said on Wednesday the government has passed 15 bills in 15 weeks, including one that would enshrine the national child care plan in law.