The former editor of the Vancouver edition of Sing Tao Daily, Victor Ho, made an observation to freeze the blood of all those who still believe in the determination of the government of Justin Trudeau to go after the allegations of Chinese interference in the Canadian elections. In an interview with Radio-Canada, Mr. Ho validated the claim that almost all Canadian Chinese-language media had fallen into the hands of owners beholden to the communist regime in China. “I don’t see any Chinese-language media or social media in Canada — with very few exceptions — that is independent and free from Beijing’s influence,” he said. Who dares to oppose the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and distance itself from the official discourse of Beijing? The press organs have been taken over by Beijing or are self-censoring very strictly. »
Since the revelations about Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections emerged in the English-Canadian media six weeks ago, Mr. Trudeau has been doing everything to prevent Canadians from knowing the bottom line of the truth. in that case. The appointment of former Governor General David Johnston as special rapporteur is far from satisfying critics. On the contrary, this appointment of a longtime friend of the Trudeau family, mandated to investigate allegations of foreign interference, is mainly intended to buy time for a government that clearly does not seem to be in a hurry to act.
Mr Johnston, whose final report is not expected until the end of the year, must nevertheless make a recommendation by May 23 on whether or not to hold a public inquiry into foreign interference during the recent federal elections. That said, nothing in the Prime Minister’s response suggests that he would quickly set up such an investigation if Mr. Johnston makes the recommendation. In fact, Mr. Trudeau seems to be doing everything to deny the problem.
Passing by last Sunday at Everybody talks about it, the Prime Minister has multiplied the pretexts for not holding a public inquiry. “We have people who work in national security who could be endangered if we speak openly about the work they are doing,” he explained to host Guy A. Lepage. However, a public inquiry is not incompatible with the protection of secret information that could affect national security or the identity of the agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service who collected it.
The main purpose of such an investigation would be to determine when and how Mr. Trudeau and his top advisers became aware of the allegations of Chinese interference, as well as what they subsequently did with this information. It has been several weeks since the Prime Minister’s national security adviser, Jody Thomas, promised members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs that she would release the dates on which Mr. Trudeau would have received updates from the intelligence services about this file – a promise which she has not yet followed through on.
Mr. Trudeau finally gave in to pressure from the New Democrats after a long time trying to prevent the testimony of his chief of staff, Katie Telford, before this committee. Mr. Trudeau’s refusal jeopardized the agreement of support and confidence with the NDP, which allows the Liberals to stay in power, forcing him, possibly, to accede to the request of the opposition parties. But the testimony of Mr.me Telford, which is supposed to take place next week, risks falling flat if MPs do not have the information promised by Mrsme Thomas.
And it is unlikely that Mme Telford will voluntarily share sensitive information about his boss in parliamentary committee. Hence the need for a public inquiry with full powers to compel witnesses to answer under oath.
This week, the government issued the executive order specifying Mr. Johnston’s term of office. The latter will have access to secret documents and, “if necessary in his estimation”, to documents protected by the confidentiality of the firm. It remains to be seen how the Special Rapporteur intends to avail himself of this access.
However, the two other bodies mandated by Mr. Trudeau to examine allegations of Chinese interference — the Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security and Intelligence (CPSNR) and the National Security and Intelligence (OSSNR) — will not have access to documents relating to cabinet deliberations.
For years, members of the CPSNR, created in 2017 to examine national security issues, have been asking the Privy Council Office to change the law to allow them access to certain cabinet documents they consider necessary. in the performance of their tasks. Without success. Recall that the Trudeau government had allowed retired judge Paul Rouleau to consult cabinet documents during his investigation into the invocation of the Emergency Measures Act, in early 2022.
In general, the deliberations of the Council of Ministers must remain secret. The proper functioning of government is at stake. But if there is ever an occasion to deviate from this rule, it is when the integrity of our electoral system is called into question. If Mr. Trudeau continues to hide behind the smokescreen he created with the appointment of his special rapporteur, the NDP will have to ask itself serious questions about the relevance of its support for this government.