Two agencies to probe alleged foreign interference in 2019, 2021 Canada polls: Justin Trudeau
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau also announced that his government will appoint an Independent Special Rapporteur on election interference with a ‘wide mandate’ including making ‘expert recommendations on combating interference
Toronto: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that two agencies will probe allegations of Chinese interference in the country’s elections in 2019 and 2021, but a public inquiry in the matter will not be held at this time. Law enforcement is now investigating the leak of information that led to media exposes about Beijing alleged influence efforts to swing the elections in favour of the ruling Liberal Party.
Addressing the media in Ottawa on Monday, Trudeau said the foreign interference issue will be addressed by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) and the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA). Neither of the investigations will be public.
A release from the prime minister’s office said the NSICOP has been asked to “complete a review to assess the state of foreign interference in federal electoral processes”.
NSIRA is expected to look at “how Canada’s national security agencies handled the threat of foreign interference”.
Trudeau also announced that his government will appoint an Independent Special Rapporteur on election interference with a “wide mandate” including making “expert recommendations on combating interference”. That person “will make public recommendations, which could include a formal inquiry or some other independent review process, and the Government of Canada will abide by the recommendation”.
“Together, these measures will give us a better understanding of what happened in the last two general elections: how foreign governments tried to interfere, how security agencies in Canada responded to the threat of interference, and how the information flowed across government,” the release added.
He also said that consultations will begin this week on establishing a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry, to track agents and lobbyists for other countries. The government is also establishing National Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator in Public Safety Canada to coordinate efforts to combat foreign interference.
Trudeau said, “We will always take foreign attempts at undermining our democracy very seriously.”
Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is undertaking an investigation into how documents from agencies including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) leaked to media outlets, and formed the basis of a series of articles on Chinese interference.
The opposition wasn’t satisfied with Trudeau’s announcements on Monday, as Pierre Poilievre, leader of the principal opposition Conservative Party, tweeted, “Trudeau refuses to call a public inquiry into Beijing’s interference in our elections. Instead, he wants a secret committee, with secret hearings, secret evidence & secret conclusions – all controlled by him. Canadians deserve the open, transparent truth.”
On Thursday, a Canadian Parliamentary panel, the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs Standing Committee, passed a motion calling for a public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference in elections. A similar motion is likely to be introduced in the House by opposition parties.
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 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 CSIS documents.
Then, 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”.
Public opinion on the matter isn’t on Trudeau’ side. Earlier this month, the non-profit polling agency Angus Reid Institute released a survey which found that two-third of adult Canadians believed Beijing tried to meddle in the elections, over half considered this a serious threat to Canadian democracy and almost 70% believed that his government was “afraid to stand up to China”.