Amid a week of raging controversy over allegations of political interference by the Chinese government in Canadian affairs, information has emerged that raises new questions about the relationship between two Quebec non-profit organizations and the Chinese state.
The RCMP announced Thursday they are investigating two more alleged Chinese “police stations” — operations located in Canada that some have claimed are being used to harass and intimidate those of Chinese descent.
OTTAWA — Evidence of China’s alleged influence in the 2021 federal election might be found as much in what didn’t happen as what did — namely, the significant number of previous Conservative voters who did not show up to cast a ballot in ridings in British Columbia and Ontario.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced probes into allegations of foreign interference last week after several media reports suggested Beijing had directed an interference campaign in a few ridings in the Toronto and Vancouver areas.
Beijing is using a “workaround strategy” for postgraduate researchers to study cutting-edge technology at Canadian and U.S. universities after Washington began denying visas for some Chinese students on the grounds that they might steal intellectual property with military uses, according to a Canadian Security Intelligence Service report.
The Dec. 21, 2021, report, labelled secret and viewed by The Globe and Mail, said the strategy sends some scholarship students to Canada from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with the aim of gaining access to critical high tech.
This is what happens when your Prime Minister is a scum sucking punk.
McGill ethics professor Douglas Farrow issued a scathing condemnation of Prime Minister Trudeau in a recent substack commentary and stated Chinese interference in Canadian elections is only the latest scandal urban Liberal voters apparently tolerate.
No foreign agent registry timeline as Australia warns of ‘unprecedented’ interference
The timeline for when Canada might have a long-awaited foreign agents registry up and running remains unclear as an MP from a top ally warns his country is seeing “unprecedented levels” of foreign interference by hostile actors, including China and Russia.
After announcing the launch of public consultations for the registry on Friday, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino did not say whether he will meet calls from security experts who say Canada could have the measure in place as soon as this summer when pressed by Eric Sorensen on The West Block Sunday.
… The root of the problem is that Canadian political parties have a rather loose definition of what constitutes a party member. Most parties allow people as young as 14 to vote in nomination and leadership contests. Neither do you need to be a full-fledged citizen — permanent residency will suffice. Candidates can go to immigrant communities to recruit new members who may not speak English or understand party policies or even agree with the party’s positions on issues. The candidates can then have donors pay for these memberships in cash.
Why should a Chinese international student who is under 18 or a non-citizen permanent resident get to help decide who will represent a Canadian political party in that riding? Raising party voting ages to at least 18 might help, as would new rules lengthening the amount of time someone must be a paid-up party member in order to cast a vote in a leadership or nomination race.
Who thought this set up was a good idea? Oh yea it was the the same evil bastards that brought us “diversity and multiculturalism.”
The prime minister provided an index of that anxiety. His performance, either in the House or outside, was far more sad than effective. Stonewall mode is not his best look, and blatantly ignoring reporters’ questions, as he did in a scrum on Wednesday, comes off — as it is — as rude and condescending.
The extremely annoying habit he has of rattling off whatever string of words he has stored up for when he’s questioned — regardless of the actual question asked — was on full and embarrassing display. This habit is even more annoying when he indulges in multiple repeats of the same string of words. As he did so often this week, when Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre — as trenchant a presence in question period as we have seen in a while — put him under the laser beam.
A Montreal area city councillor who oversees two organizations suspected by the RCMP of hosting Chinese police stations has been asked to step aside during a police probe of the issue.
Brossard Mayor Doreen Assaad said she asked councillor Xixi Li to recuse herself from her role during the RCMP investigation, reported the Journal de Montréal on March 10.
As serious as the subject is, there’s an element of farce to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s sudden conversion to the reality that Canada’s democratic institutions are under threat from foreign powers like China.
A prominent Ontario politician with a history of echoing Beijing’s talking points on controversial issues is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call an inquiry into Canada’s spy agency, accusing it of a litany of wrongdoing from racial profiling to spreading false allegations.
No different than Justin having the RCMP investigate the CSIS “leaker.”
Justin Trudeau is disappointing Jagmeet Singh. Here’s why the NDP leader is propping him up anyway
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had tough words for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week.
“It seems like the prime minister is more interested in protecting himself than protecting the electoral system,” he charged in question period.
With more and more media leaks alleging China’s interference in Canada’s democratic processes, Singh told reporters, it was “really clear” the government’s actions — referrals to two national security review bodies and the impending appointment of a special rapporteur to outline potential next steps — were “simply insufficient.”
Just the other day, while I was talking to some Americans about the foreign-interference uproars that have caused such convulsions up here lately, I tried to explain what was going on with a comparison to the Kremlin’s gambits in cyber-sabotage and dirty tricks on Donald Trump’s behalf during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
Read it all.
h/t felis gracilis
Prince Charming has upset Canada’s deep state
Justin Trudeau has had his share of scandals. However, the latest one to hit Canada’s leader has all the makings of a career-killer. Leaks from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) allege that Trudeau ignored its warnings of foreign interference during the 2019 election and, in effect, turned a blind eye to efforts by the Chinese consulate to help elect Liberal Party candidate Han Dong as MP. There were reportedly a total of 11 Beijing-funded candidates: nine Liberals and two Conservatives, though the identities of the others are not yet known.
Canada should see China as a ‘threat’ or ‘enemy’, most Canadians say: survey
Few Canadians are willing to give Beijing the benefit of the doubt when it comes to bilateral relations with Ottawa, according to a new poll conducted by Angus Reid Institute.
According to the survey, 40 per cent said the federal government should approach Chinese government as a threat to its interests while 22 per cent said they believe Beijing is an “enemy.” In contrast 12 per cent of Canadians surveyed said the view China favorably.
… The survey also found that three-in-five of past Conservative voters view China very unfavorably. The portion is 47 per cent for past Liberal voters, 37 per cent for NDP voters and 36 per cent for Bloc Quebecois voters.
The Chinese regime’s interference in Canadian elections revealed in recent media leaks is only the “tip of the iceberg,” and anti-Beijing activists say they have a good idea who its favoured candidates are, a Commons committee heard on March 10.
“If we want to say who are the 11 potential nominees that CSIS had kind of mentioned, I can pretty much guess who they are,” said Cheuk Kwan, co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China.
Kwan was referring to media reporting that the Chinese regime had funded at least 11 candidates in the 2019 election.
