(LifeSiteNews) — Former Governor General David Johnston, whom Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed as “special rapporteur,” has refused to testify regarding his involvement in the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Johnston would not take questions from Members of Parliament about his work at the Trudeau Foundation, as Members of the Commons public accounts threaten to summon him to testify regarding the Trudeau Foundation’s link to Communist China.
“We have a meeting scheduled for a week from today with individuals who have been involved with the Trudeau Foundation,” said chair of the committee, Conservative MP John Williamson of New Brunswick Southwest. “I regret to inform you all, I have three who have declined, including the Right Honourable David Johnston.”
Liberals expressed alarm over the prospect of the Commons public accounts committee summoning Johnston to testify.
“On this summons, this is typically not something we have in this committee,” Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan of Chateauguay-Lacolle, Quebec said. “It does seem like a drastic step.”
“A move to summon witnesses as this motion calls for, I think, is a giant leap in the wrong direction,” said Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos of London North Centre, Ontario. “I don’t see the need for a formal summons at this point.”
The witnesses who refused to testify were Edward Johnson, chair of the Foundation, and Mel Cappe, a Foundation mentor.
“It has been frustrating,” Williamson said. “We have no one willing to appear.”
Johnston’s refusal to testify comes after he recently concluded there should not be a public inquiry to investigate alleged Communist Chinese Party (CCP) election meddling because the matter could involve divulging state secrets.
In March, Trudeau appointed Johnston as an “independent special rapporteur” to investigate the allegations that China was meddling in Canada’s elections, despite Johnston being a known “family friend” of the Trudeaus.
The Trudeau Foundation has undergone increased scrutiny regarding its connection with China, and the examination will continue. In April, MPs from the House of Commons Public Accounts committee voted unanimously to start an investigation into how the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation is funded.
This decision comes after a report surfaced detailing how the non-profit group received a $200,000 donation alleged to be connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). After the release of this report, the entire board of directors, including the president and CEO, of the Trudeau Foundation resigned.
The donation revelation came amid an ever-growing number of reports alleging that the CCP has been meddling in Canada’s last two federal elections, both of which saw Trudeau emerge victorious.
Late last month, one of Trudeau’s own MPs, Han Dong, resigned from the Liberal Party just hours after a news report broke alleging that he had asked a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 to delay the release of two Canadians held captive by the Communist Chinese regime.
“We have a job to do to try to get to the bottom of what is happening at the Trudeau Foundation and we’re not getting documents and we’re not getting witnesses,” said Conservative MP Garnett Genuis of Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.
“That is, repeated stonewalling, enabled it seems by the government but also from people involved,” he added.
Recently, retired Canadian spy Michel Juneau-Katsuya recommended that anyone involved in Communist China’s meddling in Canada’s elections and government affairs should get “jail” time and not just a slap on the wrist, adding that such actions are a form of treason.
On May 9, the communist government of China expelled a Canadian diplomat in direct retaliation after Canada ejected a Chinese consul who was implicated in spying on MP Michael Chong and his family.
The CCP said that as a “reciprocal countermeasure in reaction to Canada’s unscrupulous move,” it declared “Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai, persona non grata.”