Talk about putting the proverbial cart before the horse..NDP leader Jagmeet Singh rejected calls on Tuesday to end his party’s support for the federal Liberals by insisting confidence in the electoral system must be restored before taking any action that would trigger an election..It comes amid lingering controversy over a public inquiry — or lack thereof — into foreign interference in Canadian elections by Chinese interests, although Singh reportedly supports one. But not enough to bring down the Liberal minority government.."I would question the approach of creating the conditions for an election, or triggering an election, as not serious about protecting our democracy," Singh said in Ottawa on Tuesday.."If we want to protect our democracy, I would think the approach should be, let's put in place new measures … I would like to see a series of steps being taken and that to me would show some real seriousness about protecting our electoral system.".He was responding to calls from Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre for the NDP to abandon its deal to support the government on confidence votes.."Is Jagmeet Singh going to stay in his coalition with Justin Trudeau and help him cover up this latest scandal?" Poilievre said. "Is Singh going to help Trudeau cover up the interference of a hostile foreign dictatorship in our elections?".Although the NDP introduced a motion calling for special ‘rapporteur’ David Johnson to step down, Singh backed away from any action to force the government’s hand. ."If it's just about a game to trigger an election, then sure Mr. Poilievre's approach is tear it all down, have an election," Singh said. ."I actually don't think this is a game. I think this is serious. I want to make sure that there are steps in place, that there are recommendations being followed that actually reinforce our democracy. I want to see people believe in voting, I want to see people confident in voting and I want to restore Canadians' confidence in that." .Also on Tuesday, former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole told the House he'd received a briefing from CSIS detailing Chinese interference in his own election campaign through a social media smear campaign and voter suppression.."Rather than restoring faith in our institutions and democratic process, the perceived conflict of interest of the special rapporteur ... the outcome-driven terms of reference he was given and the final report that followed them [have] actually deepened mistrust," he said.
