In a briefing note to Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, staff expressed concern over the media coverage of misconduct by Chinese agents, describing it as “very negative.” .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the analysis also highlighted that the prime minister faced open criticism “for appearing to be weak” in handling the situation..“The tone was very negative,” said the briefing note Analysis of Media Coverage. .“All the articles urged the government to be proactive and take China’s alleged interference in the 2019 elections seriously.”.“Overall, article angles were divided between criticizing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau versus investigating how this interference infiltrated the Canadian political system,” wrote staff. While some media protested partisanship “others criticized Trudeau for appearing to be weak.”.“There were many articles denouncing the ease with which Chinese interference has taken hold in the country,” said the Analysis..“Commentaries increasingly called on Trudeau to be honest with Canadians and release information about which candidates were targeted by Chinese interference. Others expressed confusion and doubt about the prime minister’s assertion he had not been briefed about candidates receiving money from China.”.“In general, both news articles and commentaries have expressed frustration with the lack of details that have been released to the public about the alleged election interference and noted increased pressure from the opposition on government officials to say and do more,” wrote staff..On Tuesday, the Foreign Affairs department released a note dated Dec. 13, just two days before Liberal-appointed Sen. Yuen Pau Woo (BC) criticized the media for engaging in “irresponsible speculation” regarding Chinese spies..“There is a witch hunt going on for the names of the 11 candidates as well as the identities of an unspecified number of campaign workers and political staffers who are also alleged to have been funded by the Chinese government,” said Woo in a Senate Question Period. .“It is no surprise Chinese-Canadians are among those who are most likely to be put under a cloud.”.“The source of this allegation is a story by Global News that had no named sources and no subsequent validation by any other news outlet,” said Woo. .“Yet the story has been repeated ad nauseam by other media.”.“If the story is indeed bogus, it has done serious damage to our democracy,” said Woo. .“Indeed, this reporting should be understood as a kind of election denialism. Why is the government not calling out this egregious example of disinformation?”.On May 8, the Cabinet decided to expel Zhao Wei, a Chinese spy operating from China's consulate in Toronto. .On the same day, the Commons passed a Conservative motion, with a vote of 170 to 150, calling for the expulsion of all Chinese diplomats “involved in affronts to Canadian democracy.”
