Chinese meddling: Trudeau attacks intelligence

In hot water over Chinese meddling in the election, Justin Trudeau criticized the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

• Read more: Ottawa has banned TikTok from government phones since Tuesday

• Read more: An appearance by Trudeau’s chief of staff was requested

“In a free democracy, it is not up to unelected intelligence officers to dictate to political parties who can or cannot stand in elections,” the Prime Minister criticized yesterday.

He defended his deputy, Han Dong, who was elected in Don Valley North (Toronto) in 2019, then re-elected in 2021, and will benefit from Chinese intervention, Global News reported. According to the network, Mr. CSIS joined the Liberal Party three weeks before the election. Reported concerns about Tong, to no avail.

Bombarded with questions on Monday, Mr. Trudeau chose instead to brandish the bogeyman of anti-Chinese racism that the reports of recent weeks have fueled in his eyes.

MP Dong flatly denied that, saying he supported “all genuine efforts by members of parliament” to investigate the case. However, there was not a single word from him or the Prime Minister in favor of an independent public inquiry.

Trudeau believes testimony to a parliamentary committee this week by his national security and intelligence adviser Jody Thomas and his former foreign and defense policy adviser, now deputy foreign minister David Morrison, is enough.

A public inquiry has been called for

However, that’s not enough for the NDP and Bloc Québécois, who are both calling for a public hearing. New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said the government’s opposition to such an inquiry was “unnecessary and unsatisfactory”.

“The way to end China’s so-called covert interference is to refuse to keep their secrets to themselves,” he said. A completely independent and non-partisan public inquiry is the way to shed light in the darkness. »

The two opposition parties are thus joined by Richard Fadden, former head of CSIS, former Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley and Artur Wilczynski, former Director General of Intelligence (CST) of the Communications Security Establishment (CST). Public hearing.

Even Gerald Butts, a former adviser to Justin Trudeau and the prime minister’s principal secretary until the SNC-Laval scandal, is now calling for a public inquiry.