Justin Trudeau says chief of staff Katie Telford will testify about election meddling

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a House of Commons vote on whether to call his top political staff to testify about foreign interference in elections will not be a pivotal vote that determines whether his government should fall, triggering an election.

And he announced mid-morning that his chief of staff, Katie Telford, has agreed to appear as a witness before a House committee examining the issue of elections meddling.

Trudeau punted speculation Tuesday that the minority Liberal government could collapse over a vote on a Conservative-led motion to force Telford to testify at a parliamentary committee.

Speaking to reporters on his way to a cabinet meeting, Trudeau said the vote on that motion after question period will not be a so-called confidence vote" - which is always the case on budgets or other money bills, and can also be the case on key government policies or initiatives if the government chooses to designate them so.

In an apparent move to appease the NDP's calls for Telford and a broad range of officials to testify in a transparent public way at a committee, Trudeau announced via a news release that Telford would appear.

It took the sting out of the Conservative motion, and out of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's threat at a news conference just beforehand that the NDP would vote against the government.

Because the Liberals are in a minority government position with 157 seats, they rely on support of the NDP's 25 MPs to win votes in the House of Commons and retain the confidence of the House.

Singh had suggested his party might vote against the government because it wants the Liberals to stop blocking debate on which witnesses on elections meddling to call before the procedure and house affairs committee.

Trudeau said although the issue of meddling in elections by the Chinese government and its proxies is important, he is actually pleased" the motion serves to contrast his approach - which includes an independent outside review by former governor general David Johnston, and two closed door reviews by national security-cleared bodies - with that of the Conservatives, who are driving the motion to compel Telford to testify.

Trudeau said Johnston's mandate - which he made public late morning - will look at the issue in a rigorous" and independent manner.

Johnston will be given access to all classified information related to the 2019 and 2021 election campaigns related to allegations of foreign interference, and recommend by May 23 whether a full public inquiry or other further outside review is needed.

Trudeau has asked Johnston to identify innovative approaches and improvements in the way public agencies work together to combat foreign interference," and he will continue to work on the issue and submit regular reports that the prime minister said would be shared with the opposition and the public, until Johnston completes that review by Oct. 31.

Meanwhile, the prime minister charged the Conservatives with continuing to play political games" over the matter.

Trudeau said allegations of foreign interference involve matters of national security, and while a parliamentary committee is important," it is not the place to deal with all the information the government had, no matter if it is Telford or other officials who are called to testify.

Speculation raged overnight when the Liberal House leader, Mark Holland, did not explicitly rule out a confidence vote on the Conservative motion. His office, however, tried to dampen that, telling the Star, We are having ongoing conversations with opposition parties on how to best ensure a rigorous process to investigate foreign interference," and declining to offer speculation about hypothetical circumstances" if the government lost the motion vote.

Holland on Tuesday tried to limit the damage, insisting again talks are still underway, calling all questions hypothetical and refusing to say whether Liberal MPs would be allowed a free vote on the issue. Much still depends on hour-by-hour talks about how the committee's work would proceed and which officials it would call, Holland said.

He said the Official Opposition led by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is fixated on Telford, who represents for it a partisan prize," whereas there are other officials who have direct knowledge of pre-election briefings on foreign interference who have or could be testifying.

The Conservative party particularly fixated on Katie Telford because of the partisan connection, because it is directly associated with the prime minister," Holland told reporters.

Senior NDP sources confirmed to the Star that those talks have not involved making Tuesday's vote a matter of confidence.

It has never been part of any of our discussions. Doesn't mean it's impossible but certainly unlikely in my view," NDP national director Anne McGrath said.

With files from Raisa Patel

Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc