Public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc refused to commit to disclosure of illegal conduct by foreign agents during the China interference inquiry, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government originally opposed a judicial inquiry into election interference by Chinese agents in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. To date one Chinese spy, Zhao Wei, has been expelled for his attempts to harass Conservative MP Michael Chong of Wellington-Halton Hills, ON.The Commission on Foreign Interference sat through procedural hearings last week in Ottawa and is expected to reconvene in March — but has failed to schedule a date. “We are not going to publicly confirm the veracity of what appeared in some media articles,” said LeBlanc during the hearings. “I think it is important for Canadians to know how their government responded and in subsequent hearings we will talk about specific examples.” “But what happened? Canadians need to understand the nature of the threat,” he testified. “But some of the information I am assuming with respect to specific context may be protected by the obligation to keep the information protected.” Lawyer for the Centre for Free Expression of Toronto John Mather told the Commission during the inquiry it was “important for Canadians to know what happened when it comes to election interference, how their government responded and what risks may still exist.”“I will give you just one example,” said Mather. “There is an allegation that has been produced in the media that a foreign state was encouraging people to make political donations and then having parts of those donations refunded.” The penalty for making irregular campaign contributions is a $20,000 fine and one year in jail, according to the Canada Elections Act. “Some of that information may be protected but it is important for Canadians to understand whether that allegation is true and whether that actually happened?” asked Mather.“I want to be careful,” LeBlanc said. “I am not going to comment on specific elements in media stories.”“When there are concerns about the integrity of Canadian elections it’s important that Canadians get as much information as possible so they have a full picture?” asked Mather. “I would agree with that,” replied Minister LeBlanc.The lawyer asked him if he would agree “that ultimately the government will be judged in this Commission by its actions living up to those commitments.” “I, a long time ago, lost the illusion that one can determine exactly how governments are judged,” replied LeBlanc. “There is a whole series of factors that go into that kind of judgment.”
Public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc refused to commit to disclosure of illegal conduct by foreign agents during the China interference inquiry, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government originally opposed a judicial inquiry into election interference by Chinese agents in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. To date one Chinese spy, Zhao Wei, has been expelled for his attempts to harass Conservative MP Michael Chong of Wellington-Halton Hills, ON.The Commission on Foreign Interference sat through procedural hearings last week in Ottawa and is expected to reconvene in March — but has failed to schedule a date. “We are not going to publicly confirm the veracity of what appeared in some media articles,” said LeBlanc during the hearings. “I think it is important for Canadians to know how their government responded and in subsequent hearings we will talk about specific examples.” “But what happened? Canadians need to understand the nature of the threat,” he testified. “But some of the information I am assuming with respect to specific context may be protected by the obligation to keep the information protected.” Lawyer for the Centre for Free Expression of Toronto John Mather told the Commission during the inquiry it was “important for Canadians to know what happened when it comes to election interference, how their government responded and what risks may still exist.”“I will give you just one example,” said Mather. “There is an allegation that has been produced in the media that a foreign state was encouraging people to make political donations and then having parts of those donations refunded.” The penalty for making irregular campaign contributions is a $20,000 fine and one year in jail, according to the Canada Elections Act. “Some of that information may be protected but it is important for Canadians to understand whether that allegation is true and whether that actually happened?” asked Mather.“I want to be careful,” LeBlanc said. “I am not going to comment on specific elements in media stories.”“When there are concerns about the integrity of Canadian elections it’s important that Canadians get as much information as possible so they have a full picture?” asked Mather. “I would agree with that,” replied Minister LeBlanc.The lawyer asked him if he would agree “that ultimately the government will be judged in this Commission by its actions living up to those commitments.” “I, a long time ago, lost the illusion that one can determine exactly how governments are judged,” replied LeBlanc. “There is a whole series of factors that go into that kind of judgment.”
