Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 27 did not refute allegations he was warned about a Liberal Party candidate being linked to a Beijing foreign interference network before the 2019 elections and instead suggested the raising of the concern is linked to racism.
He said during a press conference in Mississauga that Chinese-Canadians “should always be welcomed as full Canadians, and encouraged to stand for office to get involved in their communities, and to take on part of the leadership of this country.”
The prime minister was asked twice about whether he was warned about Liberal MP Han Dong and if he had allowed him to run.
On both counts Trudeau didn’t deny the allegations and instead started his answers by discussing ethnicity.
“One of the things we’ve seen, unfortunately over the past years, is a rise in anti-Asian racism linked to the pandemic, and concerns being raised or arising around people’s loyalties,” he said while answering the question for a second time.
Trudeau also said that his government always engages and listens to national security intelligence agencies, but that they don’t have a say in politics.
“In a free democracy, it is not up to unelected security officials to dictate to political parties who can or cannot run,” he said.
The role of the lead agency investigating foreign interference, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), is to collect information on threats and advise the government.
It has no ability to make arrests and is mostly powerless if the government doesn’t heed its recommendations.
Trudeau’s comment was in reference to Global News reporting of Feb. 24 that said CSIS had urged Trudeau’s team to rescind Dong’s candidacy for party nomination in 2019.
The outlet, citing anonymous security sources, said that Dong was a “witting affiliate in China’s election interference networks.”
Dong won the Liberal nomination in the Don Valley North riding in 2019 and took the seat in 2019 and 2021.
The MP issued a statement on Feb. 27 saying he has the “utmost regard for the integrity of our democratic institutions and electoral processes.”
“I strongly reject the insinuations in media reporting that allege I have a played a role in offshore interference in these processes and will defend myself vigorously against such inaccurate and irresponsible claims that come from an unverified and anonymous source.”
Trudeau said his party is “extraordinarily lucky and happy to have a Member of Parliament like Han Dong.”
“Suggestions that he is somehow not loyal to Canada should not be entertained.”
Allegations of Chinese regime interference in Canadian elections have been flowing steadily since last November, when Global broke the first big story on the matter.
The outlet reported that Beijing had funded 11 candidates in the 2019 elections.
Since then, the Globe & Mail also broke several stories citing intelligence from CSIS which documents Beijing’s strategy to sway votes in Canada.
Calls are now growing for the establishment of a public inquiry to look into the matter.
The NDP, which has a deal to keep the minority Liberals in power, twice helped them in committee to prevent Trudeau’s chief of staff from appearing to testify on foreign interference.
But NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has now called for a fully independent and non-partisan inquiry.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has yet to comment on the matter, but some MPs in his caucus have done so, including former leader Erin O’Toole and Ryan Williams.
Outside politics, former CSIS director Richard Fadden has called for an inquiry, along with former chief electoral commissioner Jean-Pierre Kingsley.
Trudeau rejected the idea again on Feb. 27, saying that mechanisms currently in place such as a Commons committee are sufficient.
He said his National Security Intelligence Advisor Jody Thomas will be testifying at committee this week.