Canada to begin inquiry into allegations that CCP agents meddled in Canadian elections

By arseniotoledo // 2024-01-12

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Canada is set to begin an inquiry into allegations that agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) meddled in the country's last two federal elections. The inquiry was first announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party-led government on Sept. 7, 2023 – years after the 2019 and 2021 federal elections and after allegations and reports first surfaced strongly suggesting that the CCP at least tried to influence the outcome of the elections. The public inquiry also comes after Trudeau launched a failed investigation last year into the allegations against the CCP. But this inquiry immediately broke down after allegations its head, former Gov. Gen. David Johnston – a personal "family friend" of the prime minister – concluded that there should not be a public inquiry into the matter, sparking massive public outcry. This new investigation, which is scheduled to start on Jan. 29, will be led by Marie-Josee Hogue, a member of Quebec's Court of Appeal. Hogue's appointment was approved with the support of the Conservative Party of Canada.

MP Han Dong likely won his seat with CCP's help

In Johnston's report on foreign interference in Canadian elections, he did admit that there was "well-grounded suspicion" that Member of Parliament Han Dong won his seat with help from the Chinese Consulate in the city. Dong, who resigned from Trudeau's Liberal Party in 2023 amid heightened allegations that he is an agent of the CCP, represents a part of northern Toronto. Before joining the federal parliament, he served for five years in the provincial parliament of Ontario. (Related: MP Han Dong resigns from Trudeau's Liberal Party following allegations questioning his loyalty to Canada.) Despite campaigning in the federal electoral district of Don Valley North, most of Dong's influential backers were wealthy ethnic Chinese residents of Markham, a suburb north of Toronto. Ethnic Chinese account for nearly half of the city's 340,000 residents. Chinese businesses dominate the city's main economic hubs, and new arrivals from China have surged in recent decades, gaining prominent places within the city's burgeoning Chinese community. One of his strongest supporters is Markham Deputy Mayor Michael Chan, also a member of the Liberal Party. He helped Dong win the party's nomination to run for the Don Valley North seat, and in February 2023 he was investigated for allegedly providing information to Chinese diplomats. Chan has had a long history of taking positions his critics accuse of being far too friendly to Beijing, including defending China against human rights abuse allegations and calling for a public inquiry into Canada's intelligence agency after it opened investigations against the CCP. As protests and revolutionary whisperings spread through Hong Kong in 2019, Chan made comments about siding with Beijing, claiming he supported the police forces of Hong Kong "strictly handling unrest." Chan may have also helped the Chinese Consulate funnel money to Dong and at least 10 other campaigns through intermediaries like himself. Campaign staffers in some of these campaigns may have also had ties to the consulate. China's potential meddling also implicates several top ministers in Trudeau's cabinet, possibly including Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng, who has served in her position since 2018 and was born in then-British Hong Kong. "The great difficulty we have in Canada is the general public has trouble understanding that we're threatened," noted Richard Fadden, the former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who noted in testimony to authorities in 2021 that subterfuge by Chinese agents in Canada "is a fact of life." Chinese meddling in Canadian elections seems to be focused on around half a dozen major cities with large Chinese diasporas. Here, Beijing increasingly deploys diplomats and other CCP proxies to undermine elected officials critical of China, especially on human rights. Meanwhile, Beijing and its allies heavily support candidates considered friendly, including Dong and Chan, and possibly Ng. "They're after us if I can use the vernacular, from a whole variety of perspectives," Fadden added. "And they're after us in a negative sort of way." Watch this clip from G News discussing how even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused China of interfering in Canadian elections. This video is from the channel Chinese Taking Down Evil CCP on Brighteon.com.

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MP Han Dong likely won his seat with CCP's help

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