Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cannot continue to gaslight and distract Canadians about China’s blatant interference in the 2021 federal election. Testimony from a top Privy Council Office (PCO) official now precludes that possibility.Democracy appears to be for sale in Canada. Chinese election interference has become a symbol of all that is decaying and pestilent about the Trudeau government. Trudeau’s national security advisor, Jody Thomas, told a multi-partisan House of Commons committee Wednesday that Trudeau was briefed “multiple” times about Chinese financial meddling in the 2021 elections. She also spoke of "frequently" briefing the prime minister during "informal" sessions..Why did he apparently ignore or do nothing about these warnings?The committee wants PMO Chief of Staff Katie Telford to appear before them and answer some tough questions about what Trudeau knew and when he knew it..When asked if he knew about the interference, if he received and read memos from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service about Chinese designs on Canadian democracy, Trudeau won’t answer the questions but instead resorts to his usual talking points about how all of his problems are a direct result of Canadian racism. .“One of the things we’ve seen unfortunately over the last years is a rise in anti-Asian racism linked to the pandemic, concerns being aroused over people’s loyalties. I want to make everyone understand fully, Han Dong is an outstanding member of our team,” Trudeau said. That last statement is a reference to the Don Valley North Liberal MP, who a CSIS source claims has benefitted from Chinese money and influence. .Trudeau tried to gaslight Canadians by distracting the issue to racism and to his ludicrous suggestion that it was CSIS who was interfering in Canadian elections by suggesting Dong might not be a suitable Liberal candidate to run for federal office. .But if Trudeau chose to ignore the warnings from CSIS, did he do so for his own political benefit? .That is the question that needs to be answered. Thomas told the committee, pulled together to investigate Chinese interference in Canadian elections after the news broke of China financing preferred Toronto MP candidates, that Canada faces foreign election interference from a variety of sources but that China is the lead player. “We cannot paint an overly optimistic picture, things change, tools and methods change. Our adversaries adapt quickly and find innovative ways to interfere in our affairs, so we must continue to learn,” she said. .Shawn Tupper, deputy minister of public safety, echoed that statement. “It’s more pervasive. It’s more aggressive and the potential for damage to our democracies is that much more serious,” he said. .Trudeau has already denied he was briefed by CSIS about Chinese interference in the 2019 election. But he appears to be lying about that because reports say CSIS told Trudeau that China interfered by financing candidates in Toronto. Thomas said Wednesday that Trudeau received a Privy Council Office memo about the operation but she couldn’t guarantee that he read it. Given Trudeau’s preference for reading the novels of Stephen King, that’s almost believable. .On Wednesday, Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre finally called for an investigation into Chinese election interference. “Conservatives are announcing today we support an independent and public inquiry,” Poilievre told reporters. .Poilievre said that his party has a number of conditions it is requesting the Liberal government follow if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agrees to call the inquiry. .“It has to be independent,” he said. “All parties in the parliament must agree on who the commissioner is. We cannot have yet another Liberal crony named to head up this inquiry.” .The leader of the Official Opposition also wants the investigation to be public. “We can’t simply bury it behind closed doors and have it in secret while Canadians are left in the dark, potentially with another election interfered in before the results of the commission [are released],” he said. .Why did it take Poilievre this long to ask for a public inquiry? Even NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has called for one — and he’s backing up the Liberal government! What’s for certain is that this unfolding and escalating scandal is not going away for Trudeau and with the mainstream media firmly following this story with the same dogged determination as the New Media, Trudeau is increasingly resembling a prime minister on borrowed time.
