By Canadian Press

Tories, Bloc discuss next steps on foreign interference as NDP pitches its own idea

Jun 13, 2023 | 11:59 AM

OTTAWA — Two opposition party leaders have now met to discuss the next steps for how the Liberal government should tackle the issue of foreign interference.

A spokesman for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirms he met today with Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet.

Their meeting comes after former governor general David Johnston informed the prime minister last Friday he was resigning as special rapporteur on the matter, citing a hyper-partisan environment that was eroding trust in the process. 

Johnston presented a report last month recommending that the government not trigger a public inquiry, citing the difficulty of doing so when the situation involves national security information that must be kept secret. 

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc has said the government remains open to an inquiry, but it wants to hear from opposition parties on who could lead one, what the timeline should be and how it would deal with secret information.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today the Bloc has submitted a list of people it thinks could lead an inquiry, while NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he thinks a committee should be struck to make that decision. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2023.

The Canadian Press