As the public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian politics finishes its first week of hearings, questions that will undermine its credibility have been raised about how it works and who has been granted intervener status.
The commission, chaired by Judge Marie-Josée Hogue, of the Court of Appeal of Quebec, wants to discover the interference of China, Russia, India and any other actor, state or not, in recent federal elections. And also how information about foreign interference circulated within the federal administration. Yet his access to government documents will be limited.
The case was launched after a source within CSIS leaked to Toronto media that the Trudeau government knew that Beijing had intervened in its favor in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. CSIS and the RCMP are continuing an investigation criminal to catch the courageous “leaker” who acted in the public interest.
Woo: red in Ottawa, red in Beijing
How could Commissioner Hogue grant Senator Yuen Pau Woo the right to participate in the investigation as a full participant, when he toes the line of the Chinese Communist Party? Woo served until 2022 as head of the Liberal-aligned Independent Senators Group.
Groups targeted by the CCP in Canada (Uyghurs and Hong Kongers) opposed his participation and that of two other liberal politicians of Chinese origin, Han Dong and Michael Chan. There are fears that their interventions will dissuade witnesses from speaking freely. The three men deny working for Beijing.
The coalition should have limited their access to testimony and their ability to interview witnesses.
Commissioner Hogue, however, rejected the request from the Conservative Party which wanted full participant status: some of its deputies were the target of the Chinese communists. It granted the PC the status of simple intervener. The Conservative Party called Hogue’s decision “deeply concerning” saying, correctly, that it “undermines the credibility of the entire process.”
Another question about the functioning of the Hogue commission is raised each time Canadian secret service operations are the subject of a public inquiry. They always mention the danger of revealing their operating methods and their human sources to refuse the publication of documents. We could also add their blunders and their deficiencies, and sometimes even their criminal acts. See the Keable and McDonald Commissions.
Chinese missing from Winnipeg lab
This is another case of Chinese interference in Canada shrouded in mystery. A couple of Chinese scientists, from the Wuhan lab and linked to the Chinese military, worked at the Winnipeg microbiology lab, the main virus research center in Canada.
One of them was even responsible for a section of the special pathogens research program. They were abruptly dismissed from their positions in July 2019. Asked about the reasons for their dismissal, Justin Trudeau evaded the question. Just like he did about Chinese interference in the Liberal election.
However, it is extremely serious: the most important Canadian laboratory for infectious diseases provided assistance with viral research which may have benefited the Chinese army.
The two Chinese people disappeared without a trace. Currently, everything suggests that they managed to flee to China. The RCMP is still investigating them. It would also deserve a public inquiry.