The federal government appeared to be on the verge of calling a public inquiry on foreign interference Wednesday after months of resisting calls from the opposition to do so.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc is leading what the government called ongoing and productive discussions with the Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Quebecois about how to move forward on the foreign interference quagmire that has clouded the government and this parliamentary sitting for months.

SA国际影视传媒淚 expect news on that very, very soon given the productive nature of those conversations,SA国际影视传媒� government House leader Mark Holland said Wednesday afternoon.

The discussions are happening in the waning days of the spring sitting of Parliament, which is currently scheduled to end on Friday.

The public inquiry is on the negotiating table as the government seeks to get priority bills passed and avoid the possibility of hundreds of votes on Conservative amendments to the governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 main estimates, which lay out specific amounts that can be spent on hundreds of government programs.

The governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 usual end-of-session motion agreeing to fast track some final pieces of legislation through various stages of debate passed Wednesday with unanimous consent.

But that motion would typically include the date the parties agree to rise.

And this time it did not, because unless a public inquiry was announced, not all opposition parties would consent to rising earlier than planned.

Allegations that the Chinese government attempted to interfere in the results of the last two federal elections have hounded the government since the beginning of the year.

All parties agree that the 2019 and 2021 federal election results were not compromised, but opposition MPs say a public inquiry on foreign meddling attempts is the only way for Canadians to feel confident in the electoral system.

They voted in favour of three motions SA国际影视传媒� two from the NDP and one from the Conservatives SA国际影视传媒� demanding an inquiry.

The last motion from the NDP passed on May 31.

It sought an inquiry headed by a commissioner backed unanimously by the House of Commons, who would have the power SA国际影视传媒渢o review all aspects of foreign interference from all states, including, but not limited to, the actions of the Chinese, Indian, Iranian and Russian governments.SA国际影视传媒�

Per the NDP motion, that commission would present its report and recommendations before the next federal election.

The Liberals voted against all three motions.

Instead, Trudeau appointed former governor general David Johnston in March as a SA国际影视传媒渟pecial rapporteurSA国际影视传媒� to review documents, interview some of the people involved and decide by the end of May if an inquiry was warranted.

JohnstonSA国际影视传媒檚 initial report on May 23 said an inquiry was not the right choice, largely because so much of the material involved classified evidence that could not be made public.

But the opposition parties skewered that decision and accused Johnston of being too affiliated with Trudeau.

Johnston was to continue his work, hold public hearings and issue a final report in the fall, but has said he will resign before the end of the month because the work has become too hyper-partisan. A final report from Johnston is still expected before July.

After Johnston announced his resignation, Trudeau appointed LeBlanc to try and figure out how to move forward on the matter. The Liberals also asked the opposition to come forward with their ideas and possible names for someone who could lead the effort to investigate foreign interference.

Opposition leaders met last week to try and come to a consensus on what they wanted the government to do.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said this week his party would only put forward names after an inquiry is officially called.

He also said the government has asked for a meeting with all parties on Thursday.

Trudeau said heSA国际影视传媒檚 glad opposition parties are ready to work together to find a consensus, but said heSA国际影视传媒檚 wary given SA国际影视传媒渉ow opposition parties behaved in the last monthsSA国际影视传媒� towards Johnston.

SA国际影视传媒淲e want to make sure that everyone agrees on the framework, the people who will participate and we donSA国际影视传媒檛 want to fall back into personal attacks, which will undermine CanadiansSA国际影视传媒� confidence in their institutions,SA国际影视传媒� he said in French.

Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Wednesday morning he hoped an agreement on the inquiry could even be hours away.

Blanchet suggested the inquiry would focus on allegations that the Chinese government had interfered in Canadian democracy, but that it would not be restricted to that subject.

He said he believed that at a minimum, the Bloc and the Liberals would agree on details of the inquiry and that it might also be supported by the NDP and Conservatives.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday he was SA国际影视传媒渘ot confident about the timingSA国际影视传媒� of an agreement on an inquiry, but said he had seen more openness from the government to calling one.

SA国际影视传媒淲e are not going to let up pressure,SA国际影视传媒� he said in an interview with The Canadian Press. SA国际影视传媒淲e are feeling hopeful but cautiously hopeful.SA国际影视传媒�

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2023.

SA国际影视传媒擝y The Canadian Press with a file from Emilie Bergeron