A federal inquiry into overseas interference is about to listen to from the Impartial MP on the centre of allegations about overseas meddling in Canadian elections.
Han Dong left the Liberal caucus after it was alleged he willingly participated in Chinese language interference efforts and received his seat with Beijing’s assist in 2019 — claims he denies.
Particular rapporteur David Johnston discovered final Could that there have been “irregularities” noticed with Dong’s 2019 nomination and “well-grounded suspicion” that these have been tied to China’s Toronto consulate, however that Dong was not conscious of those points.
Dong is slated to testify this afternoon, as is former Ontario cupboard minister Michael Chan, who’s now the deputy mayor of Markham, Ont.
Chan is suing the CSIS and others over allegations the spy company surveilled him and had issues about improper actions with Chinese language officers.
This morning, marketing campaign administrators for the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP will testify on a panel.
The inquiry will hear from Walied Soliman, the Conservative marketing campaign co-chair within the 2021 election, in addition to Azam Ishmael, who ran the Liberal marketing campaign that 12 months, and the NDP’s nationwide director Anne McGrath.
This afternoon, the inquiry is about to listen to from Chan, adopted by Dong’s former chief of workers Ted Lojko after which Dong himself.
The hearings are a part of the inquiry’s work inspecting attainable overseas interference by China, India, Russia and others within the final two basic elections.
‘Our issues have been by no means taken critically’
Soliman was the Conservative consultant on the Safety and Intelligence Threats to Elections Process Power throughout the 2021 race, and he has mentioned that the occasion had by no means been notified of any threats to the electoral course of.
“Our occasion was seeing clear indicators of tampering in ridings with substantial Chinese language diasporas,” he wrote on social media in February 2023. “Our issues have been by no means taken critically.”
Former nationwide safety adviser Jody Thomas testified that the federal government offered a response to Soliman’s issues, and nothing was discovered to recommend that “the ridings that he was involved about have been affected by makes an attempt at overseas interference.”
The fee of inquiry, led by Quebec decide Marie-Josee Hogue, expects to listen to testimony from greater than 40 individuals, together with neighborhood members, political occasion representatives and federal election officers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, members of his cupboard and numerous senior authorities officers are additionally slated to seem on the hearings, that are set to conclude April 10.
An preliminary report of findings from the fee is due Could 3.
The inquiry will then shift to broader coverage points, wanting on the authorities’s capability to detect, deter and counter overseas interference. A ultimate report is predicted by the tip of the 12 months.
