The Trudeau government has reportedly found a judge to preside over a public inquiry into allegations of election interference by Beijing after months of searching and much debate between the federal parties.
Marie-Josée Hogue has been selected to lead the inquiry.
Hogue is a puisne judge of the Court of Appeal of Quebec, appointed in June 2015.
Prior to her appointment, Hogue was a partner with the law firm McCarthy Tétrault, where she primarily practiced corporate commercial law, civil litigation, professional liability and administrative and constitutional law.
From 1988 to 1989, Hogue also worked as a law clerk to Antonio Lamer of the Supreme Court of Canada.
The official announcement came Thursday from Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is in Indonesia.
Leblanc is also the minister of democratic institutions.
The search for a judge to oversee the public inquiry has gone on for months since the resignation of former governor general David Johnston.
Johnston had been appointed by Trudeau as special rapporteur on election interference however, he stepped down in June following allegations of bias.
Since his resignation, Leblanc has been in talks with opposition parties about another potential appointment and he said that the government was in the “final stages” of putting together an inquiry.
The complex questions regarding the structure and management of the inquiry have already been answered and agreed upon, according to LeBlanc. He said that the process takes time for all the specific protocols to be followed when working with judges who are actively on the bench.
Leblanc did not comment on reporters’ questions that the reason the appointment has taken this long is a result of Johnston’s initial appointment and then resignation, due to allegations of bias and partisan fighting.
Initially, the Liberal government said that there was no need for a public inquiry into Chinese election interference, despite the demand for one by opposition parties. Instead, the Liberals appointed Johnston as a special rapporteur to oversee the matter and conclude whether or not an public inquiry was warranted.
Johnston concluded that too much of the information involved had to be kept secret for purposes of national security and that a public inquiry would not be of any use.
His conclusion sparked outrage amongst many Canadians and federal opposition parties, especially considering Johnston’s personal ties to the family of Trudeau and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
Johnston repeatedly denied any favourable bias towards Trudeau or the Liberal government.
He also pointed out to his detractors that he had initially been appointed as governor general by former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, before eventually resigning as rapporteur.
The choice of Hogue has been publicly supported by former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, who called Hogue a “solid choice.”
“The terms of reference must ensure she is also not provided with a curated view of intelligence as the special rapporteur was,” posted O’Toole on X. “Canadians deserve a serious, fulsome and non-partisan inquiry.”
O’Toole said that he was first informed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that his party had been targeted by the Chinese government in 2021, as part of an “active voter suppression campaign.”
The issue of China interfering with Canada’s democratic process has been an ongoing issue in Ottawa since reports of it first surfaced earlier this year.
Beijing has also attempted to go after sitting politicians like Conservative MP Michael Chong, threatening him and his relatives living in Hong Kong.
Chong claimed to have been targeted by China after he voted in favour of a motion in the House of Commons to condemn their government’s treatment of the Uyghur minority as a genocide, in 2021.
Both Canada and China have expelled diplomats back and forth as a result of these allegations.
CSIS has also made a policy change that will have them inform MPs of any potential threat they may face from foreign governments, even if the threat is thought to be minor.
