Another day, another revelation in the case of Chinese interference. Two confidential reports obtained by Global, drawn up before and after the 2019 federal election, suggest the prime minister was informed that Chinese officials had contributed financially to certain candidates’ campaigns in Canada.
• Also read: Foreign interference: Things are heating up in the House of Commons
• Also read: Poilievre accuses Trudeau of worrying more about leaks than interference
• Also read: Chinese interference: “The government seems to be playing hide-and-seek,” says Blanchet
One of the two reports, prepared by the Privy Council’s office in January 2022, suggests that the Chinese consulate in Toronto set up a genuine “extensive underground funding network” towards a candidate’s employee, Canadian media reported.
This document was created specifically for Justin Trudeau and his inner circle, meaning it’s highly unlikely he never knew about it.
However, when asked to say whether he had been made aware of the said secret network, the prime minister avoided questions from journalists entirely, leaving it to the “special rapporteur” who will be responsible for assessing how to proceed with the disruption file.
- Listen to the meeting of Philippe-Vincent Foisy and Antoine Robitaille live every day at 12:15 p.m. above QUB radio :
“As I said before, we are regularly updated by our intelligence and security services on the various threats to the Chinese community, our institutions and our democracies, and we act whenever necessary,” Mr. Trudeau said on Tomorrow during a relatively excited press crowd.
Ontario Liberal MP John McKay took a hard line against his leader’s line, calling China “an existential threat to Canada on many levels”.
“We as a nation must confront the Chinese government’s desire to turn us into vassal states,” he told reporters.
The Trudeau administration must soon appoint the Special Rapporteur, a “major Canadian” who will be tasked with deciding whether or not the government should launch a public and independent inquiry.
The opposition parties are all calling for such an inquiry to be set up, but the option has so far been ruled out by the Trudeau government.