Achi news desk-
Three central voices in the ongoing debate over foreign interference say the federal investigation has produced no evidence of specific actions, and they are urging the inquiry to certify that the last federal election was free and fair.
In submissions to the Foreign Interference Committee, MP Han Dong, Senator Yuan Pao Wu and Markham Deputy Mayor Michael Chan questioned recent media reports – including from Global News – about the Chinese government’s alleged foreign interference activities in Canada.
Wu, an independent senator from British Columbia who has publicly criticized allegations of Chinese meddling in Canadian affairs, wrote that while the testimony at the inquiry “confirmed while there was (foreign interference) during both elections, neither rose to the level that it affected the results of those votes — both at a level the riding and for the country as a whole.”
“It is no defense to claim that expressing doubts about the results of only a handful of ridings does not rise to the level of Trumpian denial and is therefore benevolent,” Wu wrote, referring to the baseless claims of former US President Donald Trump in the 2022 presidential election. Stolen.
“If (foreign interference) affected the results of the election, Canadians should know as such. But if (it) didn’t, Canadians should have all their suspicions removed. We may not be dealing with a ‘big lie’, like in the United States, but small lies can Accumulate very quickly and the promise of loss of trust in the system is very difficult to restore.”
The “factual phase” of Judge Marie-José Hogue’s investigation published written submissions submitted by the various participants who testified, including politicians and political parties, intelligence agencies and police, and senior bureaucrats.
The documents indicate a consensus, particularly among government agencies and Liberal cabinet ministers, that a handful of states tried to interfere during Canada’s 2019 and 2022 federal elections, but did not affect the overall results.
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In a written submission to lawyers for Dong, the independent MP for Don Valley North, said the evidence in the first instance confirmed that none of the elections had been compromised. Dong resigned from the Liberal committee after Global News, citing unnamed national security sources, reported allegations about Dong’s conversations with a Toronto-based Chinese diplomat and alleged irregularities in the 2019 Liberal MP nomination contest.
Dong has denied any wrongdoing, knowledge of alleged irregularities, and is suing the parent company of Global News.
Global reported that national security sources claimed that Dong told the official that Beijing should hold back on releasing Michael Kubrig and Michael Spavor and suggested that their immediate release would benefit conservatives in the opposition.
A CSIS summary of that conversation released under investigation, which the spy agency called “incomplete” and its allegations unsubstantiated, revealed that Dong “expressed the opinion that even if (the People’s Republic of China) released the ‘Two Michaels’ at that moment, the opposition parties would see the PRC’s action As confirmation of the effectiveness of a tough Canadian approach to the PRC”.
When asked about the conversation, Dong testified that he did not “remember that conversation.” He added that the discussion was “mostly in Mandarin” and that “every time I talked about ‘two Michaels’… [I] Always advocated for their early release” along with “improving their conditions.” He also testified that he was confused by the information in the report and “didn’t really understand the logic.”
Dong’s attorney, Mark Foley, wrote that the CSIS summary shows that Dong did not support the continued detention of two Michaels.
“If we take the topical summary to be accurate (which is a significant leap), the third point in the summary suggests that Mr. Dong said the Canadians believed the arrest of the two Michaels was wrong, arbitrary, and not comparable to the arrest of (Huawei executive) Meng Wangzhou, that the Canadians considered it legally justified,” the article reads.
“This is consistent with Mr. Dong’s testimony that he always advocated early release and improved conditions for two Michaels when he spoke to PRC officials about them.”
Dong also disputed reports of irregularities in his 2019 candidacy in the northern Don Valley, including CSIS intelligence summaries that a busload of international students were brought in to vote for him, potentially using fake identification and possibly under duress. CSIS intelligence indicated that the buses may have been chartered by agents of the Chinese government.
Dong denied any knowledge of the allegations and said he would have spoken out if he had been informed of evidence that it was happening.
Asked if he believed the Chinese government was trying to covertly interfere in Canadian politics, Dong told the inquiry he had “seen reports of that.”
“I personally haven’t seen any evidence of that,” Dong said.
David Johnston, a former governor-general who served as the Liberal government’s “special reporter” on foreign interference, found that indeed “irregularities were observed in the appointment of Mr. Dong” and that there were “well-founded” suspicions that these irregularities were related to The PRC consulate in Toronto, Johnston “found no evidence that Mr. Dong was aware of the irregularities or the potential involvement of the PRC consulate in his appointment.”
Johnston concluded that the allegations that Dong advocated for the continued detention of two Michaels were false.
The lawyer for Michael Chan, the former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister who was also mentioned in recent reports about China’s alleged foreign meddling activities, also denied any knowledge of or involvement in the alleged irregularities.
Chan’s filing noted that although he thought Dong would be a “near-perfect” candidate in the Don Valley North and encouraged him to run, Chan had no involvement in Dong’s candidacy.
Judge Hogg has just two more weeks to consider weeks of testimony, as well as a significant cache of national security documents and written statements, before her initial report is due on May 3.
After the release of that report, the inquiry will move to the “policy phase” – looking at various federal departments and agencies and their efforts to “identify, deter and prevent any form of foreign interference directed directly or indirectly into Canada’s democratic processes.”
Hogue’s final report, including recommendations to improve those efforts, is due by the end of the year.
