Canada roiled by leaked intelligence reports of Chinese election ‘meddling’

A flurry of leaked intelligence reports has reignited allegations that China interfered in Canada’s recent federal elections, kicking off a fierce debate over possible responses to Beijing’s meddling.

But the leaks also run the risk of harming Canada’s reputation among its allies, experts warn, as the country’s spy agency struggles to respond to mounting public concern.

Opposition leaders have pushed the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, for a public inquiry into how China attempted to sway the result of two federal elections in its favour.

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A Tax on Freedom Of Expression: Report Suggests Bill C-18 Could Be Expanded Even Beyond Mandated Payment for Links

Google was scheduled to appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage yesterday to discuss Bill C-18 and its test of the removal of links to Canadian news services for a small percentage of its users, but the meeting was postponed due to technical difficulties. That ensured that the big Bill C-18 news of the day did not come from the hearing, but rather from an exceptional Ricochet Media article featuring comments from Senator Paula Simons that should heighten concern about the government’s intent with Bill C-18. Senator Simons, a longtime journalist and Trudeau appointee to the Senate, raises many concerns with the bill (and a great line that “honest to god, I feel that this is written by people who have never used the Internet”), but I think this is the key passage, which opens the door to targets beyond Google and Facebook …


Not entirely sure this would impact blogs like my own, but it seems likely.

Oh, I’ve been suspended from Twitter for calling Junior a China Whore.

I apologize to whores for the hurtful association with Trudeau and the CCP.

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For the Liberals’ sake (and democracy) Trudeau needs clearer answers on foreign interference

Justin Trudeau and Han Job Dong

To understand why Justin Trudeau appeared before reporters on Monday evening to outline new steps in his government’s response to China’s alleged attempts to interfere in Canada’s political process, one only has to take note of what was said about Trudeau in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.

In the first question period since the controversy over foreign interference came to a boil, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre alleged that “for 10 years the Communist dictatorship in Beijing has been helping the prime minister” and that “we have had 10 years of cover-ups from the prime minister.”

Trudeau needs to resign. He’s a China whore.

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Rex Murphy: Each Trudeau Liberal scandal is worse than the one before

Naturally the still white-hot story of the Chinese government’s attempts to game two Canadian elections is chasing a lot of other news off the headlines. And it should. Of the multitudinous mischiefs, follies, absurdities and scandals of this tired, sloppy, incompetent and arrogant government this latest revelation has to be the top.

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Don Martin: Trudeau goes from standstill to ‘panic mode’ on Chinese interference

Finally and inevitably, he waved the white flag.

An inquiry if necessary, but not necessarily an inquiry, will likely be called to probe allegations of Chinese interference in Canada’s elections.

This after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense internal and external pressure and reluctantly pledged action after weeks of denying any further action was needed.

Singh should be orchestrating Juniors ouster, this rapporteur farce is a deliberate waste of time.

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Trudeau announces investigations into foreign interference including committee, special rapporteur

Trudeau asked the national security committee, which he has often ignored in the past, to investigate election interference

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is asking a parliamentary committee, an independent review agency and a special rapporteur to investigate claims China influenced Canada’s elections unfairly.

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A scrambling Trudeau’s half turn on interference

When the word came that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was going to make an announcement about foreign interference in Canadian elections, speculation mounted about what new thing this would be.

The answer was that there wasn’t much new, except for an unnamed new person, in the unfamiliar new role of “special rapporteur,” who would be empowered to recommend what should be done next. Including whether there should be an inquiry.

Make no mistake, this was a scrambling stall tactic, a way to hold off the critics baying for a public inquiry into Beijing’s interference in Canada’s elections. Those critics include the NDP, Mr. Trudeau’s partners in a parliamentary alliance that keeps his minority government in power.

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Doubt has been sown in Canada’s democracy. This cannot stand

When I was initially contacted by the media last month concerning the Chinese government’s reported interference in our 2019 and 2021 general elections, I stated that a public inquiry was required to pursue the matter as fully as possible by an independent authority. It was important, I believed, for the full restoration of the trust and the confidence in our electoral system.

Nothing that has been publicly divulged since has caused me to reconsider my call for a public inquiry. To the contrary, I have only been further convinced that it is the only course of action that will satisfy Canadians in coming to terms with what CSIS documents described as a brazen invasion of our electoral system by Beijing. My reaction would be the same no matter which foreign entity was sowing doubt in our democracy: Our elections belong to us and to no one else, and the mere threat that this is not 100-per-cent the case demands significant action.

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Jamie Sarkonak: Liberals push to maximize female labour — at the expense of children and middle-class families

Old-school feminism was supposed to be about letting women choose their own lifestyles. Some might want to stay home to raise a family, while others might want to pursue a career instead. There wasn’t supposed to be a wrong choice — the point was to give women equal treatment in the workplace, not force them there.

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Trudeau lays out multipronged foreign interference probes but no inquiry — yet

But none of the steps in Trudeau’s multipronged approach included a public inquiry, which opposition leaders had signalled earlier in the day was the only method of investigation they would support.

Instead, the decision on whether or not to call such an inquiry will be made by an independent, special rapporteur who will have a “wide mandate” to oversee the new probes and make recommendations on how Ottawa can better combat foreign interference and inform the public about such attempts.

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Trudeau to task intelligence watchdog with investigating foreign interference in Canada: source

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is asking the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians — one of the country’s intelligence watchdogs — to launch a new investigation of foreign election interference in Canada, CBC News has confirmed.

The news was first reported by the Canadian Press.

Trudeau is expected to lay out more details during a news conference at 5:30 p.m. ET. CBC News will carry it live.

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Anything less than a public inquiry on foreign interference is not enough: Poilievre, Singh

 

Canadians need transparency into allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections and society amid calls for a public inquiry, the leaders of the federal Conservative and New Democratic parties say.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh made the comments to reporters on Monday as the House of Commons resumes following a two-week hiatus, and as suspected Chinese foreign interference in Canada is expected to be a hot topic this week.

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Trudeau sics LPC corrupted RCMP on CSIS Leaker in latest ChiCom collusion cover-up attempt

RCMP investigating violations of security law in connection to leaks of foreign interference allegations

The RCMP says it has launched an investigation into violations of national security information law in connection to media leaks of Chinese foreign interference allegations.

“The RCMP has initiated an investigation into violations of the Security of Information Act (SOIA) associated with recent media reports,” said a spokesperson for the federal police force in a statement to CTV News on Monday.

“This investigation is not focused on any one security agency. As the RCMP is investigating these incidents, there will be no further comment on this matter at this time,” said the RCMP’s Robin Percival.

One last favour from Lucki before her retirement starts.

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