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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lashed out at Conservative MP Michael Chong shortly after a news story broke that cited top-secret intelligence documents alleging that Chong’s family in Hong Kong was targeted by the Chinese government in 2021. said he spoke with
Trudeau said during a questioning session in the House of Commons on May 2 that he had “followed up directly” with Chong after The Globe and Mail first released its report on May 1. rice field.
Trudeau spoke to Chong to “reassure him” that Canada’s National Security Agency had previously taken steps to protect MPs who were on the radar of foreign threat actors.
The prime minister said he had been given an information briefing on the matter following The Globe’s report, but denied he had previously known that Chung’s family had been threatened in 2021.
“The security services will continue to do this important work in an independent manner,” he said.
Speaking to reporters before the questioning period, Prime Minister Trudeau said in French that he would not have stopped Canadian security officials from warning Mr Chung of the threat.
Globe’s May 1 report cited a CSIS intelligence agency assessment of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) interference in Canada and provided several examples of covert interference operations carried out by the regime in Canada. .
The CSIS reportedly said the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) was behind the 2021 House of Representatives motion to call the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghur minority genocide. He said he took specific actions to
The assessment, which the Epoch Times has not independently reviewed, reportedly sought information about one of the lawmakers’ relatives who may be in China in order to enact “further potential sanctions.” There is
The Globe wrote that an unnamed national security source identified the MP as Michael Chong.
In a statement after the report was released, Chung said the federal government never notified him of the alleged threats against his family.
Prime Minister Trudeau said during a May 2 questioning period that Chong had been made available for a briefing on the matter by a senior Canadian security official on the same day.
Mr Trudeau said officials had provided Mr Chung with “all the information he needed”.
Chong rose to his feet in the House of Commons minutes later, saying that in September 2019, then-Secretary of Public Safety Ralph Goodale issued an order to CSIS to notify the Secretary of State of Public Safety about “matters or actions of interest” in the future.
Chung asked when Marco Mendicino, now Minister of Public Security, learned of the CCP’s threats against Chung’s family in Hong Kong.
Mendicino didn’t answer the question directly, but said the reported threats were “not a partisan issue,” adding that the liberal government has been “vigilant in its fight against foreign interference” since coming to power in 2015. I have,” he added.
“We have put people, resources, tools and oversight in place to protect our agency,” he said.
Noé Chartier contributed to this report.
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