The first phase of the federal inquiry into foreign interference concludes after two weeks of public hearings in Ottawa. Around 40 witnesses appeared before Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue regarding allegations of foreign interference from China, Russia, India and other countries during Canada’s last two general elections. Summary of testimonies and revelations from these public hearings.
March 27: Members of the diaspora targeted
On the first day of the public hearings, Commissioner Hogue reiterated the need to keep certain information confidential and to hear certain testimony behind closed doors in her opening speech.
During preliminary hearings in January, several senior officials advised that the disclosure of certain information should be restricted, given the secret nature of a significant number of documents.
Members of various diaspora communities then testified about the impacts of authoritarian regimes on their families. The committee notably heard from Yuriy Novodvorskiy, representative of the Russian-Canadian Democratic Alliance. The latter claimed that Russian police are putting pressure on Russian-based relatives of Russian-Canadian activists in Canada.
“A lot of Russians who come here come with families, but several still have relatives who still live in the Russian Federation, and we have seen cases where Russian militants have been identified here in Canada and then the police initiate some sort of investigation. “harassment action against the family in Russia,” he testified.
March 28: Little power for Elections Canada
The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Stéphane Perrault, said that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) informed him of possible foreign interference in a nomination race in the Toronto riding of Don Valley — North during the 2019 elections.
However, Mr. Perrault declared that he did not have the authority to properly examine allegations of foreign interference within the framework of his mandate, in particular whether certain donors were encouraged to send contributions to favored candidates by China during the campaign.
“By law, candidates must submit all supporting documentation, and this is true of nomination contestants as well, to support expenses. They must submit checks also in support of contributions,” he explained.
“In the case of other entities, such as political parties and constituency associations, we do not have access to supporting documents related to expenses. These are things that we have asked Parliament on several occasions, but we do not have access to these documents,” he told the committee.
April 2: Meetings with international students
Former Liberal MP Han Dong confirmed he met with international students from China and encouraged them to register as members of the Liberal Party during his 2019 nomination race.
The federal MP left the Liberal caucus following reports that he willingly participated in Chinese interference and won his seat with Beijing’s help in 2019.
“As the MP for a riding that has a high proportion of Chinese-Canadian residents, this is part of my duties. I consider it part of my duties to speak with foreign diplomats — in this case, the People’s Republic of China.”
Mr. Dong did not mention this meeting with the students during his meeting in February with the lawyers in charge of the investigation. He also denied knowing that the students had used falsified documents to vote for the nomination.
April 3: Interference would have cost the CCP seats, says Erin O’Toole
Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole said foreign interference from Beijing would have caused the Conservatives to lose as many as eight or nine seats in 2021.
A “declassified” intelligence report presented to the committee raises concerns that Mr O’Toole and the Conservative Party have been targets of Chinese interference, spreading false narratives online about the position of the party towards Beijing.
“The small number of seats would not have had an impact on the minority government [libéral] that Canada currently has, but the difference of two, three or five seats perhaps would have given me a greater moral justification to remain leader,” he argued.
Mr. O’Toole said party officials had already raised concerns about possible interference and that his team had forwarded those concerns to the “Election Security and Intelligence Threats Working Group.”
April 4: No open RCMP investigation
The commission heard testimony from RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme, CSIS Director David Vigneault and Dan Rogers, deputy national security adviser to the Prime Minister.
Commissioner Duheme said the RCMP has not opened any criminal investigations into foreign interference in the 2019 or 2021 elections, and none of the RCMP’s partners have provided information justifying such criminal investigations.
A document filed with the commission also revealed that Chinese officials may have transferred approximately $250,000 to “threat actors” in Canada in late 2018 or early 2019.
April 5: Messages on WeChat
A group of senior officials considered warning the public about possible foreign interference in the last general election, but after analysis decided against it, said Allen Sutherland, deputy cabinet secretary at the Bureau. of the Privy Council.
During the 2021 campaign, this committee of senior officials became aware of concerns about information circulating on the Mandarin-language social media app WeChat.
Officials, however, judged that messages in Mandarin would likely only reach the Chinese diaspora, unlike fake news written in English.
“In the case of WeChat, its ability to go viral on a national scale was different. “That doesn’t mean it was treated any less seriously,” Sutherland said in English.
This was just one of the factors that led the committee to choose not to issue a public warning, he argued.
April 8: Information sessions for ministers
Canada’s intelligence agency knew that China had “covertly and deceptively interfered” in the last two federal votes, according to a briefing document made public to the commission.
This document indicates that CSIS provided 34 briefings on foreign interference – including during the last two federal elections – to numerous ministers from June 2018 to December 2022.
Mr. Trudeau would have been informed in February 2021 and October 2022.
The paper concludes that state actors are able to intervene successfully in Canada because there are “few legal or political consequences.” This means that foreign interference is “low risk and high reward.”
April 9: Prime Minister’s Office ignored threats
CSIS chief David Vigneault was recalled to appear a second time before the commission, after Prime Minister Trudeau’s entourage said he was never warned in early 2023 about Chinese interference in the election federal elections of 2019 and 2021.
Cabinet advisers were asked about allegations by former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole that her party lost up to nine seats in the 2021 election due to China’s activities.
Mr. Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katherine Telford, said she was surprised by the revelations Globe and Mail last year and never became aware of CSIS intelligence suggesting that Beijing favored the Liberal Party over the Conservatives in 2021.
April 10: Appearance by Prime Minister Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to testify Wednesday afternoon before the public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference in the last two federal elections.
More details will follow.
With information from The Canadian Press and The Globe and Mail.