Global Courant 2023-05-30 22:34:43
OTTAWA –
Conservative MP Erin O’Toole says Canada’s spy agency told him he was the target of Chinese interference designed to discredit him and spread false stories about his policies while he was party leader.
O’Toole rioted in the House of Commons on Tuesday over a privilege issue, saying the briefing from Canada’s Security Intelligence Service revealed a series of actions against him.
They include funding from the Chinese Communist Party to create misinformation, using groups and the social media platform WeChat to amplify the untruths and a campaign of voter suppression against him in the 2021 general election, he said.
The former Conservative leader said the threats against him and members of his caucus had not been reported to him by the government or security agencies at the time.
They were also not communicated to Conservatives through the federal task force designed to help protect the integrity of the 2021 election, he added.
O’Toole said the Liberal government’s inaction amounted to a violation of his privileges as an MP and Leader of the Opposition.
“The briefing from CSIS confirmed to me what I had suspected for some time, that my parliamentary caucus and myself were the target of a sophisticated disinformation and voter suppression campaign orchestrated by the People’s Republic of China before and during the 2021 general election.”
On Monday, New Democratic MP Jenny Kwan said CSIS informed her last week that she has been targeted by China since before the 2019 federal election for her advocacy for human rights in Hong Kong and for China’s Uyghur Muslim minority. She said she was not free to discuss the details of the target.
In addition, David Johnston, the federal government’s special rapporteur on foreign interference, said in his recent interim report that there was information suggesting that Beijing was seeking information on Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family members.
Government House leader Mark Holland said on Tuesday that federal Liberals still have confidence in the man they have appointed to investigate the issue of foreign interference in Canadian elections.
But the Netherlands would not confirm whether the government could fire Johnston if an NDP motion calling for his impeachment is passed in the House of Commons this week.
The House debated a motion by NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on Tuesday calling on the government to remove Johnston as special rapporteur and conduct a public inquiry.
Singh says he does not want to personally attack Johnston but is concerned there is a clear suspicion that bias undermines the work he can do because of his links with the prime minister.
Motions from opposition parties are not binding and the government already ignored an earlier NDP motion calling for a public inquiry passed in March.
That motion came just a week after Liberals appointed Johnston to investigate allegations that the Chinese government tried to interfere in the last two federal elections.
Conservative party leader Pierre Poilièvre on Tuesday repeated calls for a public inquiry and dismissed Johnston’s role as a “fake job”.
“We have to take back control of our democracy from foreign troops, we have to give Canadians back control of their lives,” he said.
Poilièvre, who succeeded O’Toole as permanent party leader after the last election, said he would launch a public inquiry if he became prime minister, reiterating his reluctance to divulge the secret part of Johnston’s report that was presented to party leaders. to see.
“The prime minister’s plan is that he wants to highlight secret things that would otherwise be publicly disputable, but things that would fall under state secrecy in a gray area, and then put them in front of me to prevent me from speaking publicly. speak.” he said.
Singh said he will continue to push for a public enquiry, but will not end his trust and supply deal with the minority Liberal government or call an election.
“I don’t see how it makes sense if the goal is to protect our democracy and then provoke elections if we are concerned about foreign interference.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 30, 2023.
