Justice Marie-Josée Hogue will issue her first report in February of 2024.
Many months after the issue first emerged into public consciousness, after ignoring repeated votes in the House of Commons, dismissing public opinion, attempting to downplay the issue, and accusing the Opposition of overhyping the issue, the Liberal government has finally ended their opposition to holding an inquiry into foreign interference.
The government has – with the support of the Opposition parties – appointed Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Marie-Josee Hogue to helm an inquiry into the issue.
“Justice Hogue will be tasked with examining and assessing interference by China, Russia and other foreign states and non-state actors,” Minister Dominic LeBlanc says as he announces details of public foreign-interference inquiry to be led by Qc judge Marie-Josée Hogue.”
"Justice Hogue will be tasked with examining and assessing interference by China, Russia and other foreign states and non-state actors," Minister Dominic LeBlanc says as he announces details of public foreign-interference inquiry to be led by Qc judge Marie-Josée Hogue.#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/DQk3EOM4Z2
— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) September 7, 2023
What took so long?
The right decision made late is better than the decision not being made at all.
Still, one has to wonder why the government waited so long, and why they spent so long opposing an inquiry.
A more cynical interpretation would be that the Liberal government sought to buy time to to get their story straight ahead an inquiry.
Imagine how many documents could have been destroyed in the many months since the initial demands for an inquiry.
After all, the Liberals will be the main focus of the inquiry, and revelations of their connections to individuals linked to the Chinese Communist State are what drove the inquiry forward.
Including Russia and other nations in the inquiry makes sense, given that both Russia and China seek to interfere in democratic countries and want to undermine the West. With that said, it was Liberal connections to China and their ongoing submissive attitude towards the CCP (as further evidenced by Steven Guilbeault attacking the Western Canadian energy sector while praising China on the environment), that caused so many Canadians to demand an inquiry.
What we can expect
As the Inquiry unfolds, we can expect to see the Liberals try to ‘broaden’ the issue and divert attention away from China. Jagmeet Singh will likely try to bring India into it, as he has previous hinted at, even though India – as a fellow democratic country – should not be compared to totalitarian states like China & Russia.
Still, the fact that an inquiry is taking place means that – with a strong effort by the Opposition and relentless reporting by independent outlets – Canadians will have the opportunity to learn more about how hostile foreign actors are attempting to undermine our democratic institutions. And that knowledge could go a long way to helping strengthen and protect those institutions going forward.
With that said, it still won’t be easy to get answers. The Liberals aren’t going to sit back and let an inquiry destroy them politically, and Canadians will need to remain vigilant and watch for government efforts to weaken the inquiry and keep the truth hidden from the public.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – Twitter
