Liberal MP Ya’ara Saks is facing criticism after dismissing allegations of foreign interference benefiting Prime Minister Mark Carney as “conspiracy theories,” during a tense election debate hosted by B’nai Brith Canada.
Saks, the incumbent in York Centre, clashed with Conservative candidate Roman Baber after he raised questions about Carney’s ties to pro-Beijing groups and the spread of supportive messages about him on Chinese social media platforms, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
“Beijing has been running wild with the Liberals and Pierre Poilievre will put an end to it,” Baber said, citing a federal report released April 7 that confirmed Chinese agents circulated praise of Carney as a “rock star economist” on WeChat, a popular Mandarin-language platform.
Baber also pointed to a meeting between Carney and the Jiangsu Commerce Council of Canada, a pro-Beijing group. The group said it held “an in-depth meeting” with Carney during his leadership campaign, though Carney denied it on April 10 despite photographic evidence.
Baber went on to accuse Carney of attending a secret meeting with Communist Party officials in Beijing last October, just weeks before launching his campaign for the Liberal leadership. The People’s Government of Beijing said Carney, then chair of Brookfield Asset Management, attended the meeting and praised China’s business sector.
“There is clear foreign interference in this election by China that is benefiting the Liberals,” Baber said. “Mark Carney says he has absolutely no idea why.”
Saks responded by accusing her opponent of spreading misinformation. “We just heard conspiracy theories that are unfounded,” she said, warning about the danger of disinformation in federal politics.
Baber countered that Saks was dismissing facts reported by mainstream outlets. “Is that your idea of what you’re going to censor?” he asked. “Even mainstream media stories? You deem that to be misinformation?”
Saks, who previously served as Minister of Mental Health and Addictions until being dropped from the cabinet on March 14, did not respond to further questions.
