Democracy Watch revealed that a search of Elections Canada’s database shows that lawyer Sheila R. Block, whom David Johnston retained to assist him in obtaining, reviewing and analyzing secret information that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) gave them access to, seems to have donated a total of $7,593.38 to only the Liberal Party of Canada from 2006-2022. “Incredibly, Johnston denied … Read more
Democracy Watch announced that it will file a complaint with the federal Ethics Commissioner’s office that David Johnston is violating the federal Conflict of Interest Act by ruling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s (Papineau, Que.) actions on foreign interference. Call 416-546-3443.
In testimony before the House of Commons Procedural Affairs Committee, Democracy Watch called on the committee to strongly recommend that the federal government and Parliament enact many measures needed to actually stop foreign interference. A few of their proposed measures include a foreign-agent registry and that the House Ethics Committee must reverse its positions and reject federal Commissioner … Read more
Democracy Watch called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) to make three simple change to democratize and Canadianize the choice of the. next Governor General and each provincial Lieutenant Governor. Co-founder of Democracy Watch Duff Conacher said “given how important it is for the Governor General to be independent of the Prime Minister and impartial, the … Read more
Democracy Watch will call on MPs on the House of Commons Ethics Committee reviewing the federal Access to Information Act (ATIA) not only to recommend 18 key changes, but also to co-sponsor a private member bill that contains the 18 changes that have been called for by most stakeholders for years to make the ATIA an actual open government … Read more
Democracy Watch released the six-page letter it has sent to the federal Ethics Commissioner’s office calling for an independent investigation and ruling on whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) violated the Conflict of Interest Act by giving David Johnston a government contract to be “special rapporteur” on foreign interference. Call 613-241-5179.
Democracy Watch called on the Trudeau cabinet to establish an independent, merit-based appointment process for all the federal democratic government watchdogs. Despite promising in the 2015 federal election to change the process, cabinet ministers still choose all appointment advisory committee members, and choose all appointees from the long lists of candidates that the committees provide, with little or no … Read more
Democracy Watch called on Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger to release her rulings on five violations of the Lobbying Act that she referred to the RCMP from 2018 to 2020. The key question is whether Bélanger and the RCMP are hiding the rulings because they involve key ethical lobbying rules that Bélanger is proposing to gut. “It’s shameful that the RCMP … Read more
Democracy Watch released the open letter signed by 41 lawyers and law, politics and ethics professors from across Canada calling on the Liberal, Conservative and Bloc MPs on the House Ethics Committee to reject some of Commissioner of Lobbying Nancy Bélanger’s proposed changes to the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct. “The changes that the Ethics Committee wants are … Read more
Democracy Watch called on David Johnston and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) to disclose Johnston’s sole-source contract and pay for being Trudeau’s Special Rapporteur on foreign interference in Canadian politics. “As with all government spending, especially on consultants, the public has a right to know the details of David Johnston’s contract including his pay,” said … Read more
