(OTTAWA) Independent MP Han Dong will be able to rejoin the Liberal caucus if he wishes, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
The Toronto MP resigned from the Liberal caucus last March, saying he wanted to clear his name following allegations in news reports.
Global News, citing unnamed national security sources, said Dong allegedly told a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that the release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, then still in China, would benefit conservatives.
Mr. Dong immediately denied this information. The MP maintained that he had only encouraged the Chinese government to release the two men, arrested in December 2018 when Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the United States.
Mr. Dong has since filed a lawsuit against Global for his reporting.
David Johnston, whom Trudeau has appointed as a “special rapporteur” to investigate the government’s response to foreign interference, said in his preliminary report on Tuesday that the allegation was “false” and had had “a very detrimental to Mr. Dong”.
While in Winnipeg on Wednesday, Trudeau told reporters he was looking forward to talking with Dong about whether he felt his reputation had been cleared and whether he wanted to rejoin the Liberal caucus. “It’s his choice, but I’m looking forward to having this conversation with him,” said the Liberal leader.
Mr. Dong said in a statement on Tuesday that he felt exonerated by Mr. Johnston’s report. He told the CBC on Wednesday that he “definitely wants” to sit with the Liberals in the House again.
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Global News said the news organization had “spent months” reviewing dozens of documents, including those from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, as it investigated and preparing stories about alleged Chinese interference in Canadian elections.
The organization has spoken to ‘highly qualified sources on multiple occasions’ and ‘worked to verify information prepared by senior intelligence officials, many of whom have spent decades investigating security threats of Canada,” the spokesperson said.
“Our sources risked their careers and livelihoods to warn Canadians of the extent of interference by the People’s Republic of China in Canada’s democratic processes and governmental institutions,” the statement read.
“We believe in the integrity of our journalism in all of the reporting in this series, and in the vital role it plays in pursuing accountability and transparency on issues vital to the public interest. »
“The allegation is false”
In his report, Mr. Johnston writes that when the allegations emerged, “Ministers and the Prime Minister were keen to defend Mr. Dong, whom they believe was very hurt by the reports”.
“They didn’t believe the reports when they came out as they believe Mr. Dong is a loyal and helpful caucus member,” Johnston wrote. They have not received any recommendation on this allegation, since it is false. »
It is the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that is responsible for collecting intelligence, analyzing it, and then passing it on to the departments concerned for action, usually by creating new policies.
Mr. Johnston writes that he was able to review the same intelligence report provided to the Prime Minister in connection with the allegation against Mr. Dong, “and I am assured that this is the only information that pertains to that question “. It is on the basis of this report that Mr. Johnston can assert that “the allegation is false”.
The Special Rapporteur agrees that Mr. Dong has “continued to maintain close ties with consular officials of the (People’s Republic of China) at least during the 2021 election campaign”, and that he “discussed the ‘two Michaels’ with a representative” of China.
“But he did not suggest to the representative that the (People’s Republic of China) extend their detention,” concludes Mr. Johnston.
Han Dong was first elected to parliament in the constituency of Don Valley North in 2019 and he was re-elected in 2021. He resigned from the Liberal caucus on March 22 while delivering a tearful speech in the House of Commons .
“The allegations against me are as false as those against you,” he said March 22, addressing the “two Michaels.”
“To my family and especially my parents who brought us here to Canada […] the truth will protect us. »