(Ottawa) Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Brenda Lucki confirms that investigations are underway into “interference activities by foreign actors” with a committee trying to shed light on what efforts would have China is doing to influence the 2019 general election.
In a letter dated Monday sent to the elected members of the Special Committee on the relationship between Canada and the People’s Republic of China, Mr.me Lucki maintains that information relating to the investigations initiated cannot be disclosed under two articles of the Access to Information Act.
“Investigations into interference by foreign actors are among the most sensitive national security investigations the RCMP conducts today, and it must do everything possible to protect their integrity,” reads the statement. missive first updated by the Globe and Mail.
The Global Network reported, citing unnamed sources, earlier this month that the Prime Minister was tipped off in January of a wide-ranging alleged effort of Chinese interference in the 2019 election campaign, including by funds allegedly been affected by at least 11 candidates.
“In the context of the 2019 federal election, the RCMP did not conduct criminal investigations into activities targeting these elections as there was no basis for such investigations at the time,” Commissioner Lucki said in her letter. That said, the RCMP can confirm that it is currently investigating interference activities by foreign actors. »
This communication follows the decision of the special committee of the House of Commons to extend its study already begun on foreign interference in order to investigate the allegations of interference reported by Global.
Asked about the work of the RCMP, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made only a very brief comment. “We expect our security agencies, our intelligence services [et] our police services are doing their job to ensure that Canadians are safe, ”he said before going to a meeting of his cabinet.
The RCMP Commissioner concluded her missive by stating that “the RCMP takes threats of this nature very seriously and will continue to use all means at its disposal. […] to counter interference by foreign actors.