On the final day of the Commission on Foreign Interference hearings, opposition lawyers accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of compromising national security to benefit the Liberal Party, stating that his handling of foreign interference concerns prioritized partisan gains. Blacklock's Reporter says the allegation came after testimony revealed Trudeau allegedly disregarded intelligence on Chinese agents’ activities in Canada.“When it comes to foreign interference, the needs of the Trudeau government, not Canada’s, have been the guiding principles,” argued Nando De Luca, counsel for the Conservative Party, urging the Commission to conclude that Trudeau’s government ignored security risks to advance Liberal interests.Counsel for Conservative MP Michael Chong, Fraser Harland, echoed the sentiment, saying, “We saw the Prime Minister use his access to classified information to launch a partisan attack… preventing participants from questioning any other witnesses about it, [which] looks more like political grandstanding than taking the work of this Commission seriously.”Trudeau had testified on October 16, claiming to have “explosive” evidence linking some Conservative MPs to foreign agents, though he declined to name those implicated, leaving opposition lawyers unable to call rebuttal witnesses.“The Prime Minister’s nakedly partisan performance…confirmed that rather than taking foreign interference seriously he is content to leverage it for cheap political gain,” De Luca added. The opposition pointed to unclassified documents tabled during the hearings, which contradicted Trudeau’s claims, according to Sujit Choudhry, counsel for NDP MP Jenny Kwan.Choudhry alleged that Trudeau selectively disclosed classified information, stating, “Under oath he admitted members of his own Party were on that list… The only reasonable conclusion is the Prime Minister’s initial disclosure was selective.”The hearings revealed additional intelligence, including a confidential December 2021 memo, which documented how Chinese agents reportedly attempted to influence the 2021 Canadian election by supporting a minority Liberal government. The memo stated, “The People’s Republic of China preferred to support Liberal Party of Canada candidates…to ensure political infighting would inhibit Government of Canada policy responses to China.”With final submissions concluded, Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue is expected to release the Commission’s findings by December 31.
