A Canadian senator has said he wants Chinese Canadians to create a national foundation that would focus on fundraising to finance lawsuits against “dishonest journalists” and politicians who “try to smear” the community.
A video of Conservative Senator Victor Oh making the remarks was uploaded to the social media platform WeChat on June 5, showing him speaking to the group Center Uni de la Communauté Chinoise de Montréal.
The Canadian Press obtained the video, which showed Senator Oh saying in Mandarin that they should “raise funds to cover the costs for [les personnes touchées] by all these dishonest journalists who try to smear the Chinese and discredit the Chinese”.
The senator said, “We need to take legal action to deal with disorderly journalists, newspapers and politicians.” He argued that a national foundation would also help young people get involved in politics, including through scholarships.
The comments were first reported in English by Found In Translation on the online platform Substack.
Victor Oh was unavailable to answer questions at an event he attended in Ottawa on Friday, which marked the 100e anniversary of the introduction of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
“I hope, I wish that we can create a national foundation of Chinese Canadians,” he said in Mandarin. Mr. Oh went on to point out that the community needed a national foundation to have donations, a certain amount of energy and financial resource.
“Because you know all these journalists, these newspapers repress us every day. One wave after another. They’re going to smear you with just a little bit of the facts about you, aren’t they? »
In the video, Oh says reporters did not accept the findings of an initial report by former Governor General David Johnston, whom Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed to investigate allegations of foreign interference during the last two federal elections.
Johnston’s report found that some media outlets reporting allegations that China interfered in the 2019 and 2021 elections lacked context.
He also acknowledged that some intelligence confirmed attempts by Chinese officials to gather information on Canadian parliamentarians. But Johnston said the information he reviewed cannot be shared publicly.
He announced earlier this month that he would step down as special rapporteur, citing a politically charged atmosphere around his work. Johnston is due to release his final report this month.
“Simply put, they don’t believe the Governor General’s conclusion (on foreign interference) is transparent, (that there) are no Chinese spies in Canada in this case. They just don’t believe it,” Mr. Oh said in the video.
He said the foundation would be “very important”.
“If this is implemented in the near future, we will first train young people to discuss and get involved in politics, give scholarships to the younger generation and encourage them to study,” said the senator.
He added that such a foundation would also need to raise funds to cover the costs incurred by “dishonest journalists” who try to smear the Chinese people.
“If we don’t stand up this time, they will always suppress us, just like what they did to black people. Now black people are standing up and speaking their minds, now black lives matter. Is not it ? So, we must show solidarity and work together to protect our own interests and those of our next generation,” Mr. Oh defended in the video.
Senator Oh, who emigrated from Singapore 45 years ago, was appointed to the Senate in 2013 by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.