EDITORIAL: Stop stalling, it's time for a public inquiry

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Surviving in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet requires the ability to say the most absurd things while keeping a straight face.

Such was the case with Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc on Saturday, subbing for Trudeau who made a surprise trip to Ukraine.

LeBlanc said that with David Johnston having resigned as Trudeau’s adviser on foreign interference, he’s going to consult with the opposition leaders on the way forward because “we’re not looking to delay this process at all.”

In the real world, Trudeau has been delaying the process of creating an independent public inquiry to investigate Beijing’s assault on Canadian democracy — with particular attention to the 2021 and 2019 federal elections — for months.

The reason is obvious. He doesn’t want one, despite all the federal opposition leaders, the majority of MPs in the House of Commons and, according to the polls, most Canadians, wanting a public inquiry.

Instead, Trudeau started out by downplaying foreign interference, then appointed an unelected friend to advise him on whether to have a public inquiry, then saying he wouldn’t overturn the decision of his friend not to hold a public inquiry.

This was another example of the theatre of the absurd which is often the standard operating procedure of the PM.

In the real world, it was never Trudeau’s self-appointed “rapporteur” who was in charge of deciding whether to hold a public inquiry.

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The decision is Trudeau’s. It always has been.

LeBlanc continued the PM’s stalling, saying he wants to consult quickly with the opposition leaders on the way forward, but refusing to commit to a public inquiry.

Instead, LeBlanc said it might be a public inquiry, or appointing a different “rapporteur” with the same job, or it might be a different process from either a rapporteur or public inquiry.

As for who would lead this assignment — without at this point having any idea of what the assignment is — LeBlanc said it was time for the opposition leaders to identify people they think can do the job.

It’s also time to put an end to the ludicrous Liberal idea that everything in a public inquiry would have to be held in secret.

The way for Trudeau to go forward on this issue is to call a public inquiry.