Rapporteur David Johnson, Eminent Canadian

[Ron in Regina]

The RCMP will not share how many investigations into foreign interference are currently underway, nor if the federal police force is still looking into allegations targeting elected officials, despite having shared an estimate months ago.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme had told a parliamentary committee last June that there were more than 100 investigations open in Canada into foreign interference. But he fell short from providing an update at the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Ottawa on Thursday.

Conservative MP Michael Chong said his case was closed by the RCMP in December. The RCMP said it did not open any criminal investigations related to foreign interference during the 2019 and 2021 elections, but only after.

RCMP taking a 'holistic approach' to foreign interference, but won't say how many investigations are underway — National Post

The RCMP would not share how many investigations into foreign interference are currently underway

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[Ron in Regina]

 

[Ron in Regina]

China paid approximately $250,000 to ‘threat actors’ working in Canada, inquiry told — The Globe and Mail

Unclassified intelligence documents say individuals received financial support to advance PRC interests before 2019 election

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Nothing to see here. No outcome in a single riding was affected. Nothing to see here. Move along…

 

[Ron in Regina]

…Nothing to see here. No outcome in a single riding was affected. Nothing to see here. Move along…

Han Dong was elected as a Liberal MP in 2019 but stepped down from the caucus last year after reports said he had benefitted from a Chinese foreign interference network during his nomination process and had close dealings with the Chinese consulate in Toronto.

Dong told the inquiry that his wife, who acted as his campaign manager, had paid to bus seniors to his nomination and claimed it as electoral expenses but said he did not know who paid for the bus full of international students who voted in the nomination in 2019. It’s just one of life’s mysteries…strange that?

The panel of senior servants meant to notify the public of any threats to the integrity of a general election was informed of irregularities in the Liberal nomination contest in Don Valley North in 2019 but decided the threshold was not met to make a public announcement, the public inquiry on foreign interference heard on Monday.

Han Dong's nomination irregularities short of threshold to raise interference alarm, inquiry hears — National Post

Drouin described the threshold for informing the public as 'very high' and that it could do 'more harm than good'

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The public inquiry’s schedule on Monday was disrupted after lawyers for human rights and diaspora groups complained that evidence was being submitted too late for them to read the documents and properly prepare for cross-examination of the witnesses.

Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue delayed the cross-examination until the afternoon but refused to suspend the hearings for the day, arguing that the inquiry is working under a very tight schedule and that every day counts until she submits her first report on May 3…’cuz busy busy & not important enough to slow us down!!

Hogue also had to make a slight change to the schedule for a once-in-a-lifetime event. One of the legal counsels inquired about the afternoon break to be outside for the solar eclipse, which caused laughter in the room. Justice Hogue later told the commission that the afternoon break would be prolonged to let participants observe the phenomenon…’cuz priorities & stuff!!

 

[petros]

Han Dong was elected as a Liberal MP in 2019 but stepped down from the caucus last year after reports said he had benefitted from a Chinese foreign interference network during his nomination process and had close dealings with the Chinese consulate in Toronto.

Dong told the inquiry that his wife, who acted as his campaign manager, had paid to bus seniors to his nomination and claimed it as electoral expenses but said he did not know who paid for the bus full of international students who voted in the nomination in 2019. It’s just one of life’s mysteries…strange that?

The panel of senior servants meant to notify the public of any threats to the integrity of a general election was informed of irregularities in the Liberal nomination contest in Don Valley North in 2019 but decided the threshold was not met to make a public announcement, the public inquiry on foreign interference heard on Monday.

Han Dong's nomination irregularities short of threshold to raise interference alarm, inquiry hears — National Post

Drouin described the threshold for informing the public as 'very high' and that it could do 'more harm than good'

apple.news

The public inquiry’s schedule on Monday was disrupted after lawyers for human rights and diaspora groups complained that evidence was being submitted too late for them to read the documents and properly prepare for cross-examination of the witnesses.

Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue delayed the cross-examination until the afternoon but refused to suspend the hearings for the day, arguing that the inquiry is working under a very tight schedule and that every day counts until she submits her first report on May 3…’cuz busy busy & not important enough to slow us down!!

Hogue also had to make a slight change to the schedule for a once-in-a-lifetime event. One of the legal counsels inquired about the afternoon break to be outside for the solar eclipse, which caused laughter in the room. Justice Hogue later told the commission that the afternoon break would be prolonged to let participants observe the phenomenon…’cuz priorities & stuff!!

It must have been Russians who paid the Chinese. Who else? Botswana?

 

[Ron in Regina]

It must have been Russians who paid the Chinese. Who else? Botswana?

A top-secret Canadian Security Intelligence Service briefing prepared for the Prime Minister’s Office in February last year said Beijing had “clandestinely and deceptively interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 general elections.”

The classified document, dated Feb. 21, 2023, was drafted in response to media stories, including one in The Globe and Mail, that outlined a sophisticated campaign by China and its proxies to interfere in the 2021 election. The document was made public on Monday, when it was tabled at the Commission of Inquiry into Foreign Interference.

“We know that the PRC clandestinely and deceptively interfered both in the 2019 and 2021 general elections,” the document said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

In both cases, it said, China’s interference was “pragmatic in nature and focused primarily in supporting those viewed to be either ‘pro PRC’ or ‘neutral’ on issues of interest to the PRC government.”

The document said that there had been 34 previous CSIS briefings on foreign interference for the PMO, senior ministers and top civil servants, including officials responsible for election integrity. Those briefings were held between June, 2018, and December, 2022, it said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had at least two briefings, one in February, 2021, and one in October, 2022.

Prime Minister’s Office received 34 briefings on foreign interference since 2018, CSIS says — The Globe and Mail

Secret briefings for PMO in 2023 say China interfered in both 2019 and 2021 elections, inquiry told

apple.news

Mr. Trudeau has dismissed foreign interference, particularly in the 2021 election. He has accused the Conservatives of being sore losers and insisted the overall results of that election, in which the Liberals were returned with a minority, are not in doubt.

Duff Conacher, co-ordinator of the advocacy group Democracy Watch, said on Monday that he is concerned that the federal civil servants who run election monitoring units lack independence. He suggested this makes them unwilling to take steps to expose and stop foreign interference.

“Almost everyone who monitors foreign interference for the federal government has been appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of, the ruling party cabinet, and the rules they operated under were aimed at covering up instead of exposing and stopping interference,” Mr. Conacher said.

“Given their lack of independence from the ruling party cabinet, it is not surprising to see that Canada’s watchdogs over foreign interference are defending the government’s enforcement record during the 2019 and 2021 elections.”

 

[petros]

A top-secret Canadian Security Intelligence Service briefing prepared for the Prime Minister’s Office in February last year said Beijing had “clandestinely and deceptively interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 general elections.”

The classified document, dated Feb. 21, 2023, was drafted in response to media stories, including one in The Globe and Mail, that outlined a sophisticated campaign by China and its proxies to interfere in the 2021 election. The document was made public on Monday, when it was tabled at the Commission of Inquiry into Foreign Interference.

“We know that the PRC clandestinely and deceptively interfered both in the 2019 and 2021 general elections,” the document said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

In both cases, it said, China’s interference was “pragmatic in nature and focused primarily in supporting those viewed to be either ‘pro PRC’ or ‘neutral’ on issues of interest to the PRC government.”

The document said that there had been 34 previous CSIS briefings on foreign interference for the PMO, senior ministers and top civil servants, including officials responsible for election integrity. Those briefings were held between June, 2018, and December, 2022, it said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had at least two briefings, one in February, 2021, and one in October, 2022.

Prime Minister’s Office received 34 briefings on foreign interference since 2018, CSIS says — The Globe and Mail

Secret briefings for PMO in 2023 say China interfered in both 2019 and 2021 elections, inquiry told

apple.news

Mr. Trudeau has dismissed foreign interference, particularly in the 2021 election. He has accused the Conservatives of being sore losers and insisted the overall results of that election, in which the Liberals were returned with a minority, are not in doubt.

Duff Conacher, co-ordinator of the advocacy group Democracy Watch, said on Monday that he is concerned that the federal civil servants who run election monitoring units lack independence. He suggested this makes them unwilling to take steps to expose and stop foreign interference.

“Almost everyone who monitors foreign interference for the federal government has been appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of, the ruling party cabinet, and the rules they operated under were aimed at covering up instead of exposing and stopping interference,” Mr. Conacher said.

“Given their lack of independence from the ruling party cabinet, it is not surprising to see that Canada’s watchdogs over foreign interference are defending the government’s enforcement record during the 2019 and 2021 elections.”

Internal Liberal party based interference is as bad the foreign interference.

Leave me alone!

 

[Ron in Regina]

Internal Liberal party based interference is as bad the foreign interference.

Leave me alone!

 

[Ron in Regina]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was kept in the dark about instances of foreign interference during the 2021 election by the clerk of the Privy Council Office at the time, and only sought to know who knew what and when after media leaks occurred? Seriously?

Top bureaucrat briefed Trudeau on foreign election interference only after media reports, inquiry hears — National Post

Justin Trudeau was kept in the dark about foreign interference during the 2021 election by the clerk of the Privy Council Office

apple.news

(Senior officials from Trudeau’s office are set to testify later Tuesday; Trudeau is set to testify on Wednesday)

 

[petros]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was kept in the dark about instances of foreign interference during the 2021 election by the clerk of the Privy Council Office at the time, and only sought to know who knew what and when after media leaks occurred? Seriously?

Top bureaucrat briefed Trudeau on foreign election interference only after media reports, inquiry hears — National Post

Justin Trudeau was kept in the dark about foreign interference during the 2021 election by the clerk of the Privy Council Office

apple.news

(Senior officials from Trudeau’s office are set to testify later Tuesday; Trudeau is set to testify on Wednesday)
View attachment 21712

Trudeau is too dumb to understand?

 

[Ron in Regina]

Trudeau is too dumb to understand?

Dude kind of sounds like a control freak that needs to have a digit in every pie, & hoards his power through his cabinet and reins over them. Sounds fishy that he’d know nothing at all…but plausible deniability is the goal at this point it seems.

 

[Taxslave2]

A top-secret Canadian Security Intelligence Service briefing prepared for the Prime Minister’s Office in February last year said Beijing had “clandestinely and deceptively interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 general elections.”

The classified document, dated Feb. 21, 2023, was drafted in response to media stories, including one in The Globe and Mail, that outlined a sophisticated campaign by China and its proxies to interfere in the 2021 election. The document was made public on Monday, when it was tabled at the Commission of Inquiry into Foreign Interference.

“We know that the PRC clandestinely and deceptively interfered both in the 2019 and 2021 general elections,” the document said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

In both cases, it said, China’s interference was “pragmatic in nature and focused primarily in supporting those viewed to be either ‘pro PRC’ or ‘neutral’ on issues of interest to the PRC government.”

The document said that there had been 34 previous CSIS briefings on foreign interference for the PMO, senior ministers and top civil servants, including officials responsible for election integrity. Those briefings were held between June, 2018, and December, 2022, it said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had at least two briefings, one in February, 2021, and one in October, 2022.

Prime Minister’s Office received 34 briefings on foreign interference since 2018, CSIS says — The Globe and Mail

Secret briefings for PMO in 2023 say China interfered in both 2019 and 2021 elections, inquiry told

apple.news

Mr. Trudeau has dismissed foreign interference, particularly in the 2021 election. He has accused the Conservatives of being sore losers and insisted the overall results of that election, in which the Liberals were returned with a minority, are not in doubt.

Duff Conacher, co-ordinator of the advocacy group Democracy Watch, said on Monday that he is concerned that the federal civil servants who run election monitoring units lack independence. He suggested this makes them unwilling to take steps to expose and stop foreign interference.

“Almost everyone who monitors foreign interference for the federal government has been appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of, the ruling party cabinet, and the rules they operated under were aimed at covering up instead of exposing and stopping interference,” Mr. Conacher said.

“Given their lack of independence from the ruling party cabinet, it is not surprising to see that Canada’s watchdogs over foreign interference are defending the government’s enforcement record during the 2019 and 2021 elections.”

SO, the way I read it, turdOWE never legally won the last two elections. Which means the GG must remove the liberals from power immediately.

 

[Ron in Regina]

SO, the way I read it, turdOWE never legally won the last two elections. Which means the GG must remove the liberals from power immediately.

Trudeau won, but the balance of power was altered by foreign actors, and that’s not right. Trudeau would have had less seats in 2021 than in 2019 & odds are the Liberals would’ve thrown him under the bus like it was 2015-ish…& that he knows.

Odds are Really good they would’ve thrown him aside like he was toxic, in a heartbeat, if he came out with less seats in 2021 than he did in 2019. He wouldn’t be the Prime Minister currently, & the dynamics could’ve been very different.

Still, I think we’re still just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Taxslave2]

But would he have won without outside help? Either way, the election was rigged and needs to be annulled.
Normally when caught cheating it means forfeiting the game

 

[Ron in Regina]

But would he have won without outside help? Either way, the election was rigged and needs to be annulled.

O’Toole concedes nine seats were lost outside of what should have happened. Nine seats wouldn’t have lost the election, but it shouldn’t have been allowed to happen…& the Gov’t in power didn’t stop it or draw attention to it ‘cuz was beneficial to the Liberal Party of Canada. It might be that simple, but how it transpired & the lengths to hide it…that might be the tip of the iceberg we’re beginning to see, & smell, at this point.

 

[pgs]

O’Toole concedes nine seats were lost outside of what should have happened. Nine seats wouldn’t have lost the election, but it shouldn’t have been allowed to happen…& the Gov’t in power didn’t stop it or draw attention to it ‘cuz was beneficial to the Liberal Party of Canada. It might be that simple, but how it transpired & the lengths to hide it…that might be the tip of the iceberg we’re beginning to see, & smell, at this point.

I have been seeing and smelling it since 2015 .

 

[Ron in Regina]

I have been seeing and smelling it since 2015 .

The commission will hear from Government House Leader Karina Gould, who is on maternity leave, Defence Minister Bill Blair and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc during the first half of the day.

Trudeau is expected to start testifying around mid-afternoon.

Trudeau, ministers to testify at foreign interference inquiry today — CBC News

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a handful of cabinet ministers will take questions today about what they were told, and how they responded, to allegations of foreign election interference during the past two federal elections.

apple.news

 

[Ron in Regina]

The crux of the foreign interference inquiry is to discover whether Justin Trudeau danced with the devil in the pale moonlight.

In other words, did the prime minister put partisan interest ahead of the national interest by turning a blind eye — or worse, encouraging — China’s meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections to benefit the Liberal party’s electoral fortunes.

There are people within the security services who believe he did. One senior source told me last year he considers the Liberal party to be “a co-conspirator” with Beijing because it failed to act on information provided by the security agencies.

Trudeau was the star witness on Wednesday, as the first phase of hearings into foreign interference at the public inquiry before Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue wound up.

John Ivison: On Chinese interference, Trudeau sounds like someone with something to hide — National Post

The plausible explanation is that the prime minister does not want a light shone on his party's mutually beneficial association with China

apple.news

Trudeau made the case that both elections were free and fair and that his government did all it could to ensure the integrity of federal votes. The prime minister downplayed the suggestion that Chinese officials expressed a preference for a Liberal party victory in the 2021 election? It is tempting, as the Liberals clearly desire, to dismiss the whole foreign interference affair as immaterial.

He said the answers from CSIS were not clear and, since he and Broadhurst agreed the threshold for overturning the nomination process was high, they decided not to remove Dong as the candidate. His testimony suggested a textbook definition of wilful blindness. Beijing’s support for the Liberal party — and possible Liberal party complicity — does not have to be proven beyond reasonable doubt to make voters queasy.

Trudeau was persuaded to do the right thing, in the form of a public inquiry — only after all his other options had been exhausted.

He has tried to resist all external scrutiny of the issue.

He maintained on Wednesday that this was because of a reluctance to discuss security tradecraft in a public forum.

Yet that is only the latest pretext. When the allegations of foreign interference were first raised, he said the media reporting was false and that even discussing the issue was damaging to democracy.

David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador in Beijing, put it well on the X social media platform when he said China’s preference for the Liberal Party is “rock-solid and unchanging”.

“The CCP (Chinese Communist Party’s) assessment is that the Liberal Party leadership is astoundingly naive, remarkably uninformed and reliably unprincipled,” he said.

Trudeau says foreign election interference could take place by tricycles or bus #Canada #politics

Speaking during Canada's foreign election interference public inquiry on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to a question regarding the irrel...

www.youtube.com

Trudeau may not have danced with the devil, but he has at the very least given him a saucy glimpse of his Star Wars socks.

Facing memo after memo, briefing note after briefing note, Justin Trudeau told the Foreign Interference Commission time and again that he didn’t read the documents. Instead, Trudeau told the commission that he preferred to receive briefings, including on national security and foreign interference, orally.

As for Trudeau not reading the documents, that’s not what his Chief of Staff Katie Telford said when testifying about foreign interference before the Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee on April 14, 2023. Whoopsies!!

“Everything the prime minister receives, he spends a lot of time with and most definitely reads. I can confirm that if they are documents that he received, he absolutely read them,” Telford told the committee.

Trudeau testifies at foreign interference inquiry

Bob Fife of The Globe and Mail joins CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified on Wednesday before the national public ...

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She actually made that claim, that Trudeau reads all his briefings, more than once. Now, on the stand, Trudeau wants us to believe he didn’t read key documents so he can’t possibly remember details or comment on issues that were not raised with him.

LILLEY: Trudeau claims he didn't read documents, Telford swears he did — Toronto Sun

Trudeau denies seeing evidence of foreign interference saying he doesn't read briefings but his chief of staff said he reads them all

apple.news

 

[Ron in Regina]

Trudeau greasily testified that it’s anything other than what it is, & anyone else’s fault than his, and that the CCP could have said things but did they really mean them? That CSIS said things but did they really mean them? Etc…?

Trudeau casts doubt on CSIS intelligence about Chinese interference in 2019, 2021 elections — The Globe and Mail

The Prime Minister says it would ‘seem very improbable that the Chinese government would have a preference for the government’ of Canada

apple.news

(Mr. Trudeau’s testimony Wednesday conflicted with what his chief of staff Katie Telford told MPs nearly one year ago)

LILLEY: Trudeau claims he didn't read documents, Telford swears he did — Toronto Sun

Trudeau denies seeing evidence of foreign interference saying he doesn't read briefings but his chief of staff said he reads them all

apple.news

Justin Trudeau cast doubt in every direction, as that must be advantageous for him.

Michael Higgins: Trudeau's Liberal democracy based on mistrust — National Post

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a long-winded, full-throated defence of democracy during his appearance before the public inquiry on foreign interference Wednesday afternoon. But if democracy is so important how about letting the citizens know what’s going on? One thing that is becoming very...

apple.news

 

[pgs]

The trouble with lying . The story always changes .