Ottawa –
A Conservative politician who has been the target of attacks by the Chinese government told a federal committee of inquiry on Wednesday that Canada has become a “playground” for foreign interference.
Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said the federal government should abandon its culture of secrecy and release more information about threats to better inform the public.
Chung said most of the information needed to be kept secret, but hiding too much information could lead to leaks and weaken the agency’s functioning.
The committee’s latest hearings have focused on federal agencies’ ability to detect, deter and counter foreign interference.
Chong has long been a critic of China’s human rights record, and in May 2023 the federal government acknowledged media reports that Canadian intelligence had received information in 2021 that the Chinese government was considering ways to blackmail Chong and his family.
Chong told investigators he learned about Beijing’s efforts through newspaper articles and was disappointed.
He was given details at a high-level briefing shortly after the article was published, but he believes he should have been informed sooner.
Chung criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying he or his representative should have authorized the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to inform them of China’s intentions sooner.
Canada’s foreign affairs department said in August 2023 that it believed Chong was the victim of a foreign smear campaign that the department suspected was perpetrated by the Chinese government.
The ministry said a coordinated network of news accounts on the social media app WeChat posted a large number of false or misleading stories about Mr Chung between May 4 and 13 that year.
Chung cited this incident as a better way to deal with such incidents.
“They informed me and made the information public,” he said Wednesday.
“I think this is an example of how things should be publicized.”
But he expressed concern about an interaction that occurred a year ago, saying he was approached by someone offering to help and advise as a campaign volunteer.
Chong told investigators the man looked familiar and after a bit of research he discovered he had been fired from his job at the Privy Council Office several years ago for disloyalty to Canada and for being an agent for the Chinese government.
Chong said the PCO then told him that all records relating to the person had been destroyed.
After his testimony, Chong told reporters it was “surprising” that the Canadian government had no information about whether the individual posed a current threat to members of parliament.
“This is another example of a government that has failed to prioritize national security and safeguard the safety of our democratic institutions.”
According to a summary of unclassified intelligence provided to the committee on Wednesday, some lawmakers have come under attack from Beijing for their “positions on several issues” related to China. “While this has primarily been through overt influence activities, CSIS assesses that some lawmakers have also been attacked through covert, deceptive or coercive activities.”
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan, whose country has been identified as a target of covert Chinese influence operations, expressed concern about the investigation into federal organisations’ ability to tackle foreign interference.
“In fact, we need to catch up with other jurisdictions.”
Kwan said there needs to be an “accountable, apolitical and independent body” to lead and drive the actions that need to be taken to protect Canada’s interests.
Former MP Erin O’Toole told the inquiry that when he was Conservative leader he considered banning the senator from caucus over his sponsored travel and apparent support for Chinese state-owned enterprises in Ontario.
“I had suspicions that I couldn’t verify, and even if the intelligence agencies knew about it, they didn’t warn me,” O’Toole said.
“And the concern that some members of my caucus expressed to me was that if I made a rash decision to expel a member, I could be accused of being racist, of not giving someone the right to speak up.”
In the end, O’Toole did not dismiss the member, but asked his party’s Senate leader to “sit him down and give him a very stern lecture as to the appropriateness of conduct and what, in my view, was inappropriate” as leader at the time.
O’Toole said the incident highlighted a larger problem: there was no mechanism for seeking guidance from CSIS.
“We hope that this inquiry will explore reforms and modernisation to enable Parliament to function with the appropriate level of professional guidance, warning, clarification and education.”
Speaking in the House of Commons in May 2023, O’Toole said CSIS had told him in a recent briefing that he had been the target of Chinese interference aimed at discrediting him and spreading false narratives about his policies during his time as leader.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
