Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole met with Special Rapporteur David Johnston about Chinese election interference, but it was “nothing more than a box checking exercise.”. David Johnston .O’Toole, who led the Conservatives in the 2021 election, was given only a few days to prepare for the meeting and did not have a Canada Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) briefing before the meeting..“I was still waiting to receive a CSIS briefing on foreign interference that had been promised the week before when my office was called by the Johnston team and told we only had two days to make the meeting work,” said O’Toole. .“I asked to meet with him following my meeting with CSIS (which I am still waiting to receive) but was told that this was not possible.”.Current Conservatives leader Pierre Poilievre was also offered a meeting but declined..“I confirmed with Pierre that his office received a request to meet on the same day that I was,” said O’Toole..“He declined the meeting and somehow that information was leaked to the media within hours.”.O’Toole put together a report with the information the Conservatives had gathered about Chinese election interference..“Since I only had a couple of days to prepare, I asked several key 2021 Conservative campaign officials for their input and gathered a considerable amount of social media and polling information,” said O’Toole..“I was proud that my team was able to assemble a solid dossier with predictive modelling analysis as well as evidence from the ground and from WeChat. Given the pressed timeline, we were literally putting the binders together as Mr. Johnston arrived at my office with his counsel.”.O’Toole found out during the meeting that Johnston’s report was at French translation services..“With this in mind, you might understand how disappointed I was to learn halfway through my meeting that Johnston’s report was already undergoing French translation,” said O’Toole..“I was flabbergasted and realized that nothing I was going to provide to the Special Rapporteur was going to impact his work.”.O’Toole stated that the meeting felt like “a box checking exercise” and not an attempt to complete a full report of what happened..“I was left with the clear impression that my meeting was nothing more than a box checking exercise,” said O’Toole..“I shared with them detailed examples of my concerns and how I believed that intelligence leaks on interference were the result of many years of inaction by the prime minister and senior officials and a steady erosion of trust with our security agencies charged with doing important work in our national interest.”.“I was not really asked any questions or given any insights,” said O’Toole. .“It was a very strange meeting. When they made a comparison of nomination level interference by China to nomination campaigns by specific groups in Canada, I realized that sharing my on-the-ground experiences leading the team that had been targeted by China was a waste of time.”.O’Toole said he considered David Johnston as “someone I have great admiration for.” .“I consider him to be a great Canadian, which is why I am disappointed that he lent his incredible goodwill to a flawed exercise,” said O’Toole..“I am also disappointed to say that this examination into election interference has been an unserious exercise. He was appointed to be the “Independent Special Rapporteur on Foreign Interference” but a quick review of his mandate shows that his examination of election interference largely consists of talking to the same political leaders and senior officials who have presided over the ineffective and trust-eroding decisions that led to the leaks in the first place.”.O’Toole said that the Conservatives did not lose the election due to Chinese interference and that O’Toole takes full responsibility for the loss..“I was the Leader of the Conservative Party in the 2021 election and let me say very clearly that Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party won that election,” said O’Toole..“Political interference from the Chinese Communist Party was NOT the reason the Conservatives lost the election. I take responsibility for the loss.”
Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole met with Special Rapporteur David Johnston about Chinese election interference, but it was “nothing more than a box checking exercise.”. David Johnston .O’Toole, who led the Conservatives in the 2021 election, was given only a few days to prepare for the meeting and did not have a Canada Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) briefing before the meeting..“I was still waiting to receive a CSIS briefing on foreign interference that had been promised the week before when my office was called by the Johnston team and told we only had two days to make the meeting work,” said O’Toole. .“I asked to meet with him following my meeting with CSIS (which I am still waiting to receive) but was told that this was not possible.”.Current Conservatives leader Pierre Poilievre was also offered a meeting but declined..“I confirmed with Pierre that his office received a request to meet on the same day that I was,” said O’Toole..“He declined the meeting and somehow that information was leaked to the media within hours.”.O’Toole put together a report with the information the Conservatives had gathered about Chinese election interference..“Since I only had a couple of days to prepare, I asked several key 2021 Conservative campaign officials for their input and gathered a considerable amount of social media and polling information,” said O’Toole..“I was proud that my team was able to assemble a solid dossier with predictive modelling analysis as well as evidence from the ground and from WeChat. Given the pressed timeline, we were literally putting the binders together as Mr. Johnston arrived at my office with his counsel.”.O’Toole found out during the meeting that Johnston’s report was at French translation services..“With this in mind, you might understand how disappointed I was to learn halfway through my meeting that Johnston’s report was already undergoing French translation,” said O’Toole..“I was flabbergasted and realized that nothing I was going to provide to the Special Rapporteur was going to impact his work.”.O’Toole stated that the meeting felt like “a box checking exercise” and not an attempt to complete a full report of what happened..“I was left with the clear impression that my meeting was nothing more than a box checking exercise,” said O’Toole..“I shared with them detailed examples of my concerns and how I believed that intelligence leaks on interference were the result of many years of inaction by the prime minister and senior officials and a steady erosion of trust with our security agencies charged with doing important work in our national interest.”.“I was not really asked any questions or given any insights,” said O’Toole. .“It was a very strange meeting. When they made a comparison of nomination level interference by China to nomination campaigns by specific groups in Canada, I realized that sharing my on-the-ground experiences leading the team that had been targeted by China was a waste of time.”.O’Toole said he considered David Johnston as “someone I have great admiration for.” .“I consider him to be a great Canadian, which is why I am disappointed that he lent his incredible goodwill to a flawed exercise,” said O’Toole..“I am also disappointed to say that this examination into election interference has been an unserious exercise. He was appointed to be the “Independent Special Rapporteur on Foreign Interference” but a quick review of his mandate shows that his examination of election interference largely consists of talking to the same political leaders and senior officials who have presided over the ineffective and trust-eroding decisions that led to the leaks in the first place.”.O’Toole said that the Conservatives did not lose the election due to Chinese interference and that O’Toole takes full responsibility for the loss..“I was the Leader of the Conservative Party in the 2021 election and let me say very clearly that Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party won that election,” said O’Toole..“Political interference from the Chinese Communist Party was NOT the reason the Conservatives lost the election. I take responsibility for the loss.”
