Commentary
The crisis of trust across Western societies has to be familiar by now. Faith in established institutions from government to mainstream media has plummeted, fuelling a populist surge. So whatever you think of its justification, you grasp that it must be taken seriously, right? Which brings me to the Hogue inquiry … and straight on by.
The Foreign Interference Commission, its formal name, “has finished its work and will no longer be responding to inquiries.” Which is a pity as I have several pointed ones, first among them, “Who were they, and what did they do?” surely the whole point of this inquiry into the scandal that erupted several years back.
Foreign meddling in our elections and politics, most notably by the People’s Republic of China, has been a major concern for many of us for a long time. Including the unseemly closeness of Canada’s elite to communist China, especially in one party. And while ravings about treason have a long and largely disreputable political history that hasn’t improved online, from late 2022 it was clear that something was happening here that Canadian citizens needed to know about.
In 2023 CSIS and in 2024 NSICOP, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, found that China systematically tried to influence our elections. These efforts were largely ineffective, but NSICOP’s 2024 report contained this key warning: “Unfortunately, the Committee has also seen troubling intelligence that some Parliamentarians are, in the words of the intelligence services, ‘semi-witting or witting’ participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics.”
None dare call it treason. But while parliamentarians don’t get much respect these days they are, I repeat, the only people in the entire vast state apparatus we the citizens choose. And some are apparently not on our side.
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Egad. If false, it had to be refuted convincingly. But if true, it had to be validated with names, dates, and places. Yet neither was done.
The Establishment, oblivious to the deepening crisis of trust, brushed it aside. Who among us doesn’t take lavish trips funded by foreign states, privately advise their consulates about manipulating our government, and regard Canada as a settler-colonial state?
Turns out most voters. Finally, the prime minister had to appoint a special rapporteur to kill the issue, David Johnston, an old family friend who predictably said nothing to see here folks, you can trust us. Which merely tarnished his stellar Establishment career, as Parliament voted he should step down, not least for opposing a real public inquiry.
Weirdly, Johnston’s terms of reference included “raise any outstanding questions of public interest or answers that are needed to ensure public confidence” on recent election interference. Of which the top two, surely, were “Who were those parliamentarians?” and “What did they do?” Instead, we got the Canadian Jedi mind trick: You voters don’t need to see that information.
Its government page praises Johnston’s report for “recommendations on protecting and enhancing Canadians’ faith in our democracy.” But burying a scandal doesn’t count.
So the PM had to call the Hogue Commission inquiry anyway. Which after nearly 18 months said at enormous length nothing to see here folks. Elections were interfered with, mistakes were made, influence was had. But it’s all better now and no, you can’t know who they were or what they did.
To help journalists write stories anyway, the Commission put out a “Fact Sheet.” But it lists stuff like “Number of Participants granted standing: 27” and “Number of media accredited to cover hearings: 256,” not Joe Friday whodunnit facts. Or even “Number of pages in the final report” released in trite chunks but not one single PDF, an amateurish performance made worse by file names like “report_volume_1.”
That alleged “Report Summary” is 123 pages long, not exactly rushing to the point. A summary is a page or two saying “Here’s who they were and what they did.” Instead, the report’s meandering “Word from the Commissioner” includes: “The measures implemented over the past two years, along with several statements made on the matter, suggest that the government is now prioritizing the fight against foreign interference. This must continue.”
We can’t know how or why, of course. Or who they were or what they did. Instead, we should believe “several statements” by politicians about their own excellence.
Worse, Hogue blames us for impudently wanting more: “On the one hand, trust in Canada’s democratic institutions has been shaken, and it is imperative to restore it. This can only be achieved through greater transparency. On the other hand, while the government has the primary responsibility for ensuring national security and protecting our democratic institutions, what I have read and heard convinces me that society as a whole must help defend these institutions.”
Trussssst us, they say. And wonder why we don’t.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
