Has the CCP Taken Over Canada?
The Truth about Foreign Interference in Canada (Part 1)
Hey Folks,
As you may be aware, Canada is currently conducting an inquiry into foreign interference into the 2019 and 2021 elections.
It is not yet complete, but I think that any reasonable person would conclude that it has already failed.
Even back in January, things weren’t looking good.
At the time, an article in the Globe and Mail explained:
A coalition of human-rights groups representing ethnic communities targeted by China are poised to boycott the public inquiry into foreign interference that begins Monday if Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue allows politicians with alleged ties to Beijing to cross-examine them and gain access to confidential testimony.
Justice Hogue, a judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal who heads the inquiry, granted standing to former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Michael Chan, now deputy mayor of Markham, Ont., and independent MP Han Dong. Standing means they can cross-examine witnesses and gain access to all evidence collected, including whatever is presented to the inquiry outside of hearings.
Justice Hogue also granted intervenor status to Independent Senator Yuen Pau Woo, which allows him to participate in the hearings examining foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections.
The Human Rights Coalition, an umbrella body of Canadian groups that have spoken out against China’s foreign interference and human-rights abuses, says the three politicians have long had ties to Chinese diplomats and expressed pro-Beijing views.
“I am very pessimistic about this inquiry,” said Mehmet Tohti, executive director of the Uyghur Human Rights Advocacy Project. “This is a dead start for me. We are going to withdraw.”
Mr. Tohti said the three men have “acted like Chinese officials in Canada so I am not ready to make myself available to be cross-examined by them.”
In a more recent FAQ about the inquiry, The Globe and Mail explains why neither the Conservative Party nor the NDP were granted “party standing”, but Chan and Dong were.
In the first phase of the inquiry, which is known as the fact-finding phase, the Conservative Party and the NDP were granted intervenor standing, which means they can present evidence and suggest witnesses. But the opposition parties do not have full standing, or what is called party standing, which would give them the power to cross-examine witnesses or gain access to evidence presented outside of the hearings. The Conservatives and NDP are granted full standing in the second part, or “policy phase,” of the inquiry, when the probe looks for reforms to counter foreign interference.
Commissioner Hogue has, however, granted full standing to Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong, whom The Globe revealed in May was targeted by China along with his Hong Kong relatives over criticism of Beijing.
She also granted full standing to Michael Chan, the current deputy mayor of Markham, Ont. Mr. Chan, a former Ontario cabinet minister, has for years been on CSIS’s radar because of his ties to China’s Toronto consular officials, according to reporting by The Globe. He says he is loyal to Canada and accuses CSIS of tarnishing his reputation.
Independent MP Han Dong was also granted full standing. Mr. Dong left the Liberal caucus in March, saying he wanted to clear his name after Global News reported, citing unnamed national-security sources, that he allegedly told a Chinese diplomat in February, 2021, that releasing imprisoned Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from detention in China would benefit the Conservatives. Mr. Dong has denied the report. Commissioner Hogue said in December that Mr. Chan and Mr. Dong require the full range of rights at the hearing to defend themselves.
Let’s recap: the Conservative PARTY and the New Democratic PARTY were not granted “party standing” at the inquiry into foreign interference… but two Chinese politicians widely suspected of being foreign agents were.
Why? Are they parties? Is an inquiry into foreign interference the place for Chan and Dong to “defend themselves”? “Defend themselves” from what, anyway? Suspicion of being foreign agents? As far as I know, they haven’t been charged with any crime. Why do they deserve more privileged access to the inquiry than the Official Opposition Party?
Apparently, everyone’s too polite to ask the obvious question, so I’ll do it: Does the CCP now rule Canada?
How did we get to this point?
In March 26th, the Globe and Mail published an article entitled A timeline of events that led to the public inquiry into foreign interference.
It worth reading carefully.
A timeline of events that led to the public inquiry into foreign interference.
February, 2020
In a heavily redacted intelligence brief dated Feb. 21, 2020, an item prepared by the Privy Council Office warns the Canadian government that an “active foreign interference network” on behalf of the Chinese state was at work during the 2019 federal election, in which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was re-elected with a minority government. The brief is released to a Commons committee investigating foreign interference in December, 2022.
February, 2021
Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director David Vigneault warns that foreign interference “poses a significant threat to the integrity of our political system and democratic institutions,” and that China conducts influence operations among the Chinese-Canadian community and with Chinese-language media outlets. MPs on the Commons committee probing foreign interference are given access to the document in November, 2022.
July, 2021
A top-secret CSIS report, produced by its intelligence Assessment Branch and dated July 20, 2021, says China views Canada as a “high-priority target” and employs a vast influence network directed at legislators, business executives and diaspora communities here. The Globe, reporting on the document on May 1, 2023, reveals that Conservative Michael Chong and his family were a target of the Chinese, and that he said he had never been told. The revelation prompts an uproar on Parliament Hill.
Federal election, 2021
CSIS documents that cover the period before and after the September, 2021, federal election reveal China used a sophisticated strategy to disrupt the election with Chinese diplomats and their proxies backing the re-election of the Liberals and working to defeat Conservative politicians considered to be unfriendly to Beijing. The CSIS documents had been shared with government officials and Canada’s Five Eyes intelligence partners. The Globe reports on the top-secret and secret documents in February, 2023.
Fall, 2022
CSIS briefs the Prime Minister that China’s consulate in Toronto had targeted 11 candidates in the 2019 federal election, according to two sources with direct knowledge. CSIS Director Vigneault informs Trudeau that there was no evidence of Chinese money secretly flowing to the candidates – a mix of Liberals and Conservatives – and no indication the interference efforts had helped elect any of them. The Globe reports on the briefing in December, 2023.
November, 2022
Trudeau meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Indonesia, and raises his concerns about suspected interference by China in Canadian domestic affairs. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly unveils a long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy that promises to bolster the ability of national-security agencies to combat foreign influence in the region and in Canadian affairs.
March, 2023
Trudeau ignores opposition calls for a public inquiry, but announces on March 6 two closed-door probes into Chinese election interference that will be reviewed by a special rapporteur. On March 15, he names former governor-general David Johnston as the independent special rapporteur to look into interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections. Trudeau and Johnston face immediate backlash over his appointment.
May, 2023
The day after The Globe names MP Chong and his family as a target of China, based on a national-security source, Trudeau brokers a meeting with CSIS Director Vigneault and national-security adviser Jody Thomas for an official briefing. They also tell Chong that Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei was involved. Ottawa expels Wei a week later. Within two weeks, CSIS reaches out to former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole and NDP MP Jenny Kwan. All three politicians are told they were – and remain – targets.
June, 2023
David Johnston resigns as special rapporteur, just over two weeks after rejecting a public inquiry and being the focus of a parliamentary vote calling for his removal. He cites the “highly partisan atmosphere” for his departure. A majority of MPs in Parliament, by a vote of 174 to 150, vote for Ottawa to set up an independent public inquiry instead.
Sept. 7, 2023
Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Marie-Josée Hogue agrees to head a public inquiry into foreign interference by China and other hostile states.
Stay tuned for Part 2!
RECOMMENDED READING
April 5th: A look at what happened this week at the foreign interference inquiry
Read the full breakdown of Day 1 here.
Read the full breakdown of Day 2 here.
Read the full breakdown of Day 3 here.
Read the full breakdown of Day 4 here.