Hon. Denise Batters: Senator Gold, with the resignation of PM Trudeau’s Special Rapporteur last Friday, a public inquiry into Beijing election interference is now the only credible option. We do not need another special rapporteur, we do not need another report where major players in this interference scandal are not interviewed, and we do not need another worthless process led by Prime Minister Trudeau’s friends, his political supporters or members of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. About 60% of Canadians want answers through a public inquiry. The House of Commons has voted three times for a public inquiry. That is the voice of the people in Canada. The half measure of Johnston’s public hearings just won’t cut it.

Senator Gold, when will your Trudeau government do what Canadians, the House of Commons and all opposition parties want and call a public inquiry?

Hon. Denise Batters: It is very short. I’m a member of the Legal Committee, Senator Deacon, and despite the Trudeau government including this part dealing with the Elections Act in their budget implementation act, were you aware that neither the Chief Electoral Officer nor the Privacy Commissioner were consulted at all by the Trudeau government despite their including this in their budget implementation act? Were you aware of that?