After months of deliberations, the federal government is launching a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada, and has found a judge to lead it.
Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc announced Tuesday that Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Marie-Josée Hogue will lead the probe, which will look beyond China to other foreign meddling.
“Justice Hogue will be tasked with examining and assessing interference by China, Russia, and other foreign states and non-state actors, including any potential impacts to confirm the integrity of, and impacts on, the 2019 and 2021 general elections at the national and the electoral district levels,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc said Hogue will have “full access” to all relevant cabinet documents, as well as any other documents she deems necessary, with the goal of tabling an interim report by Feb. 29, 2024, a few days shy of six months from now.
Hogue’s final report is due by the end of next year.
“In addition to examining and assessing interference by China, Russia and other foreign state and non-state actors, Justice Hogue will also look at the flow of information to senior decision makers, including elected officials,” LeBlanc said.
This development comes after several months of opposition parties and some national security stakeholders calling for a full public inquiry, amid heightened attention on alleged attempts by China to meddle in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
The spring decision by then-special rapporteur David Johnston not to recommend an inquiry—citing the inability to satisfy the concerns of Canadians due to the national security limitations on making key details public—drew swift criticism.
But on the heels of his resignation, the Liberals showed new openness to a public process and LeBlanc began engaging in negotiations with the other parties on a suitable structure and official to lead the inquiry.
Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted that his government would move forward with a “robust inquiry into foreign interference of all different types” despite reported issues locking in someone to lead it.
Throughout these deliberations the Liberals have said they wouldn’t be proceeding with an inquiry until there was “full buy-in” from the other parties, an effort to strip out as much of the politics as possible after the government’s first attempt crumbled under partisan scrutiny.
LeBlanc called the extent of consultation and negotiation processes with opposition parties “unprecedented.”
“Our work together sends a clear signal to Canadians that democratic institutions are strong and are resilient,” LeBlanc said.
“We think we have arrived, with the full support of the opposition, at the best person to lead this inquiry,” he also said. “Justice Hogue came to us highly recommended by other jurists, obviously her chief justice, the chief justice of Quebec, was very supportive, so we look forward to this work commencing as quickly as she can get the commission up and running.”
As parties have spent the summer discussing next steps, a former RCMP officer has been charged with foreign interference-related offences for allegedly helping China identify and intimidate an individual, and a Canadian monitoring system has detected a likely China-backed “information operation” targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong.
According to the Quebec Court of Appeal website, Hogue was appointed to her current position in 2015. She studied law at l’Université de Sherbrooke and was admitted to the Bar of Quebec in 1987.
Before becoming a judge, her primary areas of practice were corporate commercial litigation, civil litigation, and professional liability, the Quebec Court of Appeal website states.
Speaking in Singapore, Trudeau said Canada and China’s relationship remains strained, as a result of “real concerns around foreign interference.”
Asked about whether news will soon be coming on a foreign agent registry the government has also been consulting on, the prime minister indicated that was a more “complex” file.
With files from CTV News’ Annie Bergeron-Oliver and Vassy Kapelos.
More details to come.