Trudeau resists calls for public inquiry into foreign election interference

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday again resisted calling a public inquiry into foreign election interference in the wake of multiple media reports on China’s meddling in Canadian politics, saying there are already enough examinations of the matter under way.

Opposition parties teamed up Thursday to pass a parliamentary committee motion calling for an independent probe into foreign interference. Liberal MPs on the procedure and House affairs committee opposed the motion but were outvoted by the Conservatives, New Democrats and the Bloc Québécois. The motion is non-binding.

Mr. Trudeau, speaking during a visit to Winnipeg, said he thinks there is sufficient scrutiny, referring to hearings at that committee and election-security measures in place during the past two elections. He said top civil servants kept watch for foreign interference that would upset the political process and said “Canadians can take tremendous reassurance in the fact that it was found that our election integrity held absolutely in 2019 and 2021.”

The Globe and Mail reported Feb. 17, based on Canadian Security Intelligence Service documents, that China employed a sophisticated strategy to disrupt Canada’s democracy in the 2021 election campaign.

The secret and top-secret documents, viewed by The Globe, reveal that Chinese diplomats and their proxies backed the re-election of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals – but only to another minority government – and worked to defeat Conservative politicians considered to be unfriendly to Beijing.

The Globe reported Feb. 28 that CSIS discovered the Chinese government was targeting Mr. Trudeau in a foreign influence operation after he became Liberal Leader in 2013, an effort that included a significant donation to a non-profit foundation dedicated to the memory of Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

On March 3, the Trudeau Foundation announced that it is returning a large financial gift from a Chinese billionaire, saying it had learned through the media “that there was a potential connection between the Chinese government and a 2016 pledge of $200,000 to be received by the Foundation,” president and chief executive Pascale Fournier said in a statement on its website.

The CSIS documents, laid out in a Globe report, outline how China spread falsehoods on social media and provided undeclared cash donations in the 2021 election. The documents also outline how Beijing directed Chinese students studying in Canada to work as campaign volunteers, and illegally returned portions of donations so donors were not out of pocket after claiming a tax receipt.

Mr. Trudeau also suggested that the matter will be studied by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), an entity that is not a committee of Parliament but was created by the Prime Minister.

“All these processes are going on and demonstrate the seriousness with which this government in this country needs to take the question of foreign interference,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters.

The Globe asked NSICOP Friday whether it’s undertaking a study of Chinese state interference in Canada during the 2021 and 2019 elections. In an e-mailed statement, the NSICOP Secretariat declined to say. It pointed out that it has examined Ottawa’s response to foreign interference in past reports. The Secretariat said the committee posts an advisory if it initiates a review.

Dennis Molinaro, a former national-security analyst and professor at Ontario Tech University, noted that NSICOP has repeatedly made suggestions to the government on foreign interference and recommendations “and they’ve been largely ignored.” He said that fuels fear that a study by this committee will achieve little.

Michael Cooper, Conservative critic for democratic reform, accused Mr. Trudeau of ignoring the will of Parliament, saying the Prime Minister is “covering up the truth and telling Canadians there is ‘nothing to see here’ when it comes to Beijing’s interference in our democracy.” He noted that a “clear majority” of the Commons procedures and

House affairs committee voted to call for a public inquiry.

Andrew Coyne: We don’t need a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections

Mr. Cooper alleged that Mr. Trudeau “is showing nothing but contempt for Parliament” by not embracing the motion for an inquiry.

NDP House Leader Peter Julian said he feels “disappointment, frustration and confusion” at Mr. Trudeau’s response to “incredibly serious allegations of foreign interference in local campaigns during Canadian elections.”

He noted that “a former CSIS head, former chief electoral officer and a House of Commons committee with representation from all parties” have all called for a public inquiry.

“We don’t question the overall results of the last election,” he said. “But the best way to stop foreign governments from continuing to operate in the shadows of our elections is to shine a light into those shadows with a full, transparent independent public inquiry. Why is Mr. Trudeau avoiding that?”