In a document presented to the House of Commons on January 30, the Liberal government said on the grounds of secrecy whether the Privy Council Office (PCO) or the Prime Minister’s Office had received information about Beijing’s funding of federal candidates. I didn’t.
The government provided an official response after Conservative MP Arnold Viersen submitted written questions on the issue on 22 November.
That same day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Said “I was never given any information about China’s funding of federal candidates.”
Trudeau reacted to it report Global News reports that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has secretly funded candidates in past elections.
“Whether or not anyone in the Prime Minister’s Office or the Privy Council Office received such information and, if so, (i) the person who received the information, (ii) the date on which the information was received, (iii) why that person received it. , why not inform the Chancellor?” Viersen wrote in the order:
A response filed in the ministry’s inquiry, signed by liberal MP Greg Fergus, who serves as the prime minister’s secretary to parliament, says the PCO receives information from Canadian intelligence agencies and is developing advice for Trudeau. .
“That information was obtained from operational sources, is confidential, and must be protected,” the document states.
“Commenting on operational intelligence details jeopardizes operations and jeopardizes Canada’s access to valuable information about national security threats.”
The Critical Election Events Open Protocol, a commission set up to protect against foreign interference in elections, has determined that there is no threat to the integrity of the 2019 and 2021 elections, according to the government’s response.
I added earlier comments made by National Security and Intelligence Advisor Jody Thomas before the Commons Defense Committee last December.
“I’ve never seen money flow to 11 candidates,” Thomas said.
In short, this does not necessarily mean that the government was not informed to that effect.
Some of the redacted documents produced by the Information Assessment Office (IAS) of the PCO are: It was published According to Global News in December on the issue of CCP interference.
“2. China/Canada: A Subtle But Effective Interference Network,” states the headline section of the Daily Foreign Intelligence Brief released on February 21, 2020.
Just below the heading is the rating. [rest of sentence and paragraph redacted].
Conservative MP Michael Cooper read the document at a meeting of the House of Commons Affairs Committee on December 13 and asked ministers who will testify for their comments.
“I’m not familiar with that particular report, but I take what my colleague quoted at face value.” Said Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominique Leblanc.