Achi news desk-
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was told in September 2019 of alleged “irregularities” in Han Dong’s candidacy in the northern Don Valley, but a senior party member advised against taking action based on the intelligence available at the time.
Trudeau was first updated on Sept. 30, 2019 — one day before the Liberal leader could replace Dung as their candidate in the GTA riding — according to one of his longtime staffers.
Jeremy Broadhurst, who served as the Liberals’ 2019 campaign manager, told a public inquiry into foreign interference on Tuesday that he had briefed the prime minister on possible Chinese influence in the 2019 Dong nomination contest in the northern Don Valley.
The briefing took place 22 days before the 2019 general election – and one day before the Liberals could change their candidate.
Intelligence officials from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) told Liberal Party representatives, including Broadhurst, about allegations of foreign interference by China in the Northern Don Valley Liberal nomination race, which Broadhurst relayed to Trudeau two days later after the leader returned to Ottawa after a week of campaigning.
The information included allegations of “the use of buses to bring international students to the appointment process, with the support of Han Dong, at the direction of PRC officials in Canada.”
But based on the intelligence, Broadhurst advised against taking action to replace Dong—an offer Trudeau ultimately accepted.
“I determined that this is something that should indeed be brought to the attention of the Prime Minister,” Broadhurst testified.
“I provided (Trudeau) information based on the information we had at the time and based on what I thought should be a very high bar for overturning a Democratic result,” Broadhurst said.
“I advised the Prime Minister not to take any action.”
Broadhurst argued that there was no unusual level of challenge from Dong’s opponents, leading him to believe that action should not be taken based on unconfirmed intelligence.
Dong resigned from the Liberal caucus on March 22, 2023 and now sits as an independent. He has denied any wrongdoing, and is suing Global News’ parent company for its coverage of foreign interference.
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“I didn’t notice the transportation of international students because… I didn’t understand it as a disorder,” he said.
Dong’s campaign manager, Ted Luiko, testified that he knew nothing about the student buses being overcrowded.
The commission’s lawyer briefed Dong last week on why he had not submitted the information until Monday, but the independent MP said his wife only reminded him of it after his interview with the commission.
He decided to inform the committee of the additional information after a recent discussion with his lawyer, he said.
“It was a short period of time for the campaign and I reached as many groups as possible,” Dong testified.
It is illegal for international students to vote in Liberal nominations, as long as they can prove they live in the riding. Dong denied any knowledge of the students allegedly using fake documents to vote in the nomination. Dong testified that he assumed the bus with students was arranged by the school.
“I will be the first to condemn it. I think it is an insult to our democratic system,” he said.
On Monday, Global News reported that a document submitted to the investigation shows Trudeau was briefed on alleged interference in the Don Valley North race shortly before Election Day 2019.
Parties have 21 days before the vote to remove a name from the ballot, in accordance with the election rules. At the time, the Liberal Party was in a tough race against Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives that came after the SNC-Lavalin scandal and footage of a young Justin Trudeau in blackface emerged from decades earlier.
But Broadhurst said parties have other options if the deadline passes, such as dropping a candidate.
A top-secret report filed at the public inquiry into foreign election interference says Canada’s spy agency alerted the prime minister in February 2021 to alleged interference in the riding of former Liberal MP Han Dong, two years before the allegations made a global headline.
In talking points prepared by CSIS Director David Vigneault, he wrote, “In February 2021, I briefed the Prime Minister on individuals associated with the PRC (People’s Republic of China) interfering with the 2019 Liberal candidacy in the northern Don Valley.”
Last week, the inquiry heard that CSIS had intelligence that Chinese international students who went to a private high school were put on the ballot in Dong’s 2019 nomination contest. The information provided by the spy agency in the investigation did not allege that Dong knew about China’s alleged efforts to interfere in his nomination race.
For more than a year, Trudeau has dodged questions about when CSIS briefed him on alleged “irregularities” in Dong’s nomination contest.
After the allegations first surfaced in February 2023, Trudeau strongly supported Dong, telling reporters at the time that they were glad to have an MP like Dong “in our midst, serving his community.”
The Prime Minister also suggested that anti-Asian racism was at play.
“Again, one of the things we’ve seen unfortunately over the last few years is an increase in anti-Asian racism related to the pandemic and concerns around people’s loyalty,” he said.
Last week — more than a year after Global News’ initial report — Trudeau was asked again when he learned of the alleged interference in Dong’s riding, but did not say.
“The continuing committee on foreign interference is an important way to highlight some of the challenges we face (among some of the solutions we’re putting forward) to keep our democracy safe,” Trudeau said.
“I want to stress to everyone that our expert, non-partisan panel that reviewed the 2019 and 2021 elections confirmed that these elections were conducted in a manner where integrity prevailed, (and) where the outcome was decided by Canadians.”
Trudeau is scheduled to testify at the inquiry on Wednesday.
David Vigneault, director of CSIS, was also recalled to discuss new evidence uncovered by the investigation after his testimony. His appearance was scheduled for Friday.
Trudeau’s deputy chief of staff, Brian Clough, told the committee he had advocated for the public release of a classified document that he believed would clear Dong’s name in relation to a separate allegation.
Dong was accused of campaigning against the immediate release of two Canadians detained in China – Michael Kobrig and Michael Seppvor – during a 2021 phone call with a Chinese consular official.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service ultimately chose not to release the summary of the conversation, which Clough believed would have freed Dong.
“If a document is leaked to the media, it appears in the news, it cannot be the last word,” Clough testified on Tuesday.
“There has to be a way to get more facts out so that a person can defend themselves and so Canadians can know the truth.”
Dong told the commission last week that he did not remember the conversation but said he had always supported the early release of “the two Michaels.”
With files from the Canadian Press.
