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China’s interference in Canada polls: Trudeau aide to testify before parliamentary committee
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford will appear before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee next month on alleged Chinese interference in 2019 and 2021 elections
Toronto: After weeks of blocking such an appearance, the ruling Liberal Party has agreed to have Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s closest aide testify before a parliamentary committee about the extent to which the prime minister’s office (PMO) was aware of alleged Chinese interference in 2019 and 2021 elections.
Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford will appear before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee next month. A statement from the PMO said that while there were “serious constraints on what can be said in public about sensitive intelligence matters, in an effort to make Parliament work,” she has agreed to appear before the House of Commons committee in April.
A motion in this regard was passed in the committee on Tuesday, after such a move had been stalled by members of the ruling party.
However, a motion moved in the House by the opposition Conservative Party to have her also appear before the House Ethics Committee was defeated after the New Democratic Party (NDP), headed by Jagmeet Singh voted along with the ruling Liberals.
As MPs continue to study the allegations of Beijing attempting to influence the elections, the Independent Special Rapporteur appointed by the government earlier this month is expected to complete his review by October 31, according to a release from the PMO.
Former governor-general David Johnston was appointed to take on that responsibility, has been “tasked with assessing the extent and impact of foreign interference in Canada’s electoral processes, including by examining information related to the 2019 and 2021 federal elections to determine what the government did to defend Canada against electoral interference”.
“As Independent Special Rapporteur, Mr Johnston will play a crucial role in reinforcing the integrity of and upholding Canadians’ confidence in our democratic processes, and I look forward to receiving his recommendations on how we can keep taking steps to ensure Canada is protected against any attempts at undermining our democracy,” Trudeau said.
A series of exposes have increased pressure on the Trudeau government. On February 17, the Globe and Mail noted, “China employed a sophisticated strategy to disrupt Canada’s democracy in the 2021 federal election campaign as Chinese diplomats and their proxies backed the re-election of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals — but only to another minority government — and worked to defeat Conservative politicians considered to be unfriendly to Beijing.” That report was based on Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents.
After that, the outlet Global News cited a December 20, 2021 report from CSIS that said the “Liberal Party of Canada is becoming the only party that the People’s Republic of China can support”.
