Something fishy
It is quite difficult to understand the positions that the Trudeau government holds vis-à-vis the Chinese. Is there not eel under rock?
Real Lemire
A public inquiry would solve nothing.
I believe that the actions recently taken by the Trudeau government are sufficient. I rely entirely on the external affairs committees bringing together ministers and MPs from different parties to study the problem and make recommendations. A public inquiry would do nothing to solve the problem, especially since many foreign policy experts do not recommend a public inquiry, since it could give too much information to hostile foreign governments. Also, contrary to what the Conservative leader is saying, Canadians’ level of stress and involvement is not that high in the face of interference from outside governments.
Pierre-Beaudry
Pervasive interference
Today, Chinese interference. Yesterday, Russian interference. The day before yesterday, American interference. Tomorrow, where will they come from? These interpositions via technology, the virtual or the real are indeed omnipresent in our societies. And what about our procrastinating Justin Trudeau? It makes no sense. It is completely absurd not to have the right time in the face of our security. Is there a pilot in this device that is Canada? Beyond threats, blackmail, various pressures, couldn’t our Prime Minister of Canada assert himself loud and clear? If there were an election in the country, I would vote for Mélanie Joly: she has taken the lead in these files as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Francois Robert Jr, Quebec
Trudeau is the first to act
The Trudeau government is the first Canadian government that is actually doing something specifically to counter Chinese interference in Canadian elections. It’s a bit like with the pandemic, governments had to learn to deal with the unusual, the unknown, by experimenting. Chinese interference is also a relatively new phenomenon, to which we are unaccustomed, and increasingly present, not only in Canada, but almost everywhere in democratic countries.
Celine Desmeules
An electoral rage
I think that the relentlessness of the leaders of the other parties reminds us that elections are coming up and that we would like to bring down the Prime Minister to have a chance of being elected. What if the prime minister was right? The requested investigation would take far too long and cost a fortune. And wouldn’t change anything in the past.
Rolland Parent
From a distance
Mr. Xi was re-elected for a third term, surrounded by his army of minions. Let’s keep them a very, very long distance away. And Mr. Trudeau, please defend the Canadian nation against murderous totalitarianism.
Daniele Pachebat
Encourage cooperation
Seems to me like a lot of unnecessary hype. It seems to me that everyone should ask themselves the question: what could China do to successfully influence my vote? Instead of cultivating distrust of foreign countries, we should encourage cooperation, it might be less harmful.
Roch Dubois
Loss of trustworthy
This government is not doing enough. He even seems to do everything to hide. The fact of wanting to find an official rapporteur as an adviser seems to me to be one more tactic to further distance the independent public inquiry that everyone has been calling for for a long time. The opposition parties and the population in general have growing doubts about this government. Confidence takes a hit. When confidence is shaken, the end of a government is not far off.
Francine Roy
worrying
Chinese interference in the process of our elections seems obvious, as does China’s desire to control its nationals. As Canadians, this should worry us. But what is even more worrying is the behavior of Justin Trudeau in this file. His dodges resemble his usual fancy skating and inability to be effective in a crunch.
Marc Couturier
A calm approach
When it comes to national security, it is better to act discreetly than to play the bullshit and fall into political partisanship. In this case, there are far too many politicians and commentators who want to know everything and who cry out for the end of the world, even if the instability thus generated plays into the hands of the countries which are at the origin of these harmful actions for our democracy. Let the police authorities and organizations responsible for national security do their job. I agree with Justin Trudeau’s calm approach to this matter.
Jacynthe Dancause, Quebec
Nothing new
It seems that the “illustrious” Canadian politicians have just discovered the world. The Chinese have had their fingers in the politics of several countries for several years.
Gaetan Faubert
Lack of transparency
For transparency, it will be necessary to iron. Who has nothing to reproach himself for has nothing to fear. Wanting to postpone the holding of a public inquiry only increases the mistrust of citizens.
Andre Gosselin, Montreal