Six MPs on a Parliamentary committee are forcing the government to meet to discuss reports that China’s Toronto Consulate funded Chinese Communist Party-affiliated candidates in the 2019 general election.
The request from members of the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) comes after Global News reported that the Toronto office secretly funded at least 11 CCP-related candidates.
In a letter to committee chair Bardish Chagger on Wednesday, Conservative, NDP and Bloc Québécois MPs said they wanted to meet to discuss how to respond to the “troubling revelation” about the CPP’s efforts to influence Canada’s election.
“Former CSIS agents have criticized the government’s failure to address or prosecute this foreign state interference in our democratic process,” the letter reads.
It was signed by Conservative MPs John Nater, Luc Berthold, Blaine Calkins and Michael Cooper, and NDP MP Rachel Blaney. Bloc MP and committee vice-chair Marie-Hélène Gaudreau also co-signed the letter.
Per House of Commons procedure, committee members can force a House of Commons committee to meet when four MPs from two parties write to the chair requesting a hearing.
Committee members requested that Chagger call a meeting as soon as possible, though they noted it would not be appropriate to hold the meeting on Friday, which is Remembrance Day.
In a post on Twitter, Cooper said, “It’s long past due for a plan to counter Beijing’s foreign interference ops on Canadian soil.”
According to the Global News report, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada’s spy agency, wouldn’t say which candidates were funded, but that the list includes Liberals and Conservatives. CSIS also wouldn’t tell if they believe the CCP changed the outcome of the 2019 Canadian federal election.
Global reports that spies have sought to influence policy by working in Member of Parliament’s offices. They’ve also sought to punish Canadian politicians whom the CCP finds threatening.
For example, CPP agents tried to leverage Chinese-linked industries and companies in local MPs areas to pressure elected officials. China’s Toronto consulate also funded CCP agents who worked as Canadian campaign staffers.
