Eby denies Beijing interference claims by former mayor Kennedy Stewart

VANCOUVER — “I know the premier is aware of it. I know many members of his cabinet are aware of this.” These were the words of former Vancouver mayor and NDP Member of Parliament Kennedy Stewart during a Monday interview on CKNW’s Jas Johal Show..Stewart, who served as Vancouver’s mayor from 2018 to 2022 and as the NDP MP for Burnaby South from 2011 to 2019, dropped the bombshell allegation while discussing foreign interference in B.C. politics. He told Johal he had been interviewed for roughly four hours by lawyers working for the federal government about a current provincial cabinet minister he claims is under an active RCMP investigation for collaborating with the Chinese government.“I reported this to senior B.C. NDP officials,” Stewart said on air.“This is an ongoing RCMP investigation that nothing’s being done about it. And essentially, in my view, we’re just rolling over and we’re not protecting our sovereignty from what I consider the biggest threat to democracy in Vancouver and across Canada.”Stewart did not name the NDP MLA alleged of foreign interference with Beijing and being actively investigated by the RCMP.On Tuesday, Premier David Eby pushed back hard in the legislature, telling MLAs he is not aware of any RCMP investigation into a member of his cabinet or caucus related to foreign interference..This is not the first time Kennedy Stewart has publicly raised alarms about Chinese government interference in Canadian politics.In 2022, while still Vancouver mayor, Stewart revealed that CSIS proactively briefed him and his chief of staff for nearly two hours on the risks of foreign interference in the upcoming municipal election. He described the meeting as “highly unusual,” noting the officers, including a China specialist, warned him about tactics Beijing could use at the local level.As Eby recalled in the legislature on Tuesday, on losing the last municipal election, Stewart further alleged that the Chinese government was collaborating with a candidate who ran against him and caused him to lose the election.Eby, who acknowledged he went door knocking with Stewart, said “I can assure this house that he did not lose the election because of the Chinese government.”.Multiple federal inquiries, including the ongoing public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections, have documented efforts by the Chinese consulate and United Front Work Department operatives to sway politicians at all levels of government.As of Tuesday afternoon, neither Stewart nor the NDP had released any additional documentation or evidence to support or refute the claims.The premier said he "had multiple briefings with CSIS, with the RCMP" and none pointed to any concerns about any member of his government.“Neither the RCMP nor Canada’s spy agency have ever raised concerns about my cabinet or caucus,” Eby said. Government House Leader Mike Farnworth was even more blunt, calling the claims “absolutely ridiculous” and “simply not true.”Premier Eby further stated that if there were any members in his cabinet under investigation by the RCMP, he would have removed that person from cabinet.Readers of the Western Standard may recall that Eby, only weeks ago, criticized the opposition Conservative Party of BC for not immediately firing one of their MLAs — Hon Chan — after it came to light he was being criminally charged for alleged domestic violence offences.

Eby denies Beijing interference claims by former mayor Kennedy Stewart

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