While in Iceland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deceived an international reporter when asked about any public inquiry developments regarding Chinese interference in Canada’s elections.
The Liberal PM was in Iceland attending a working session with the Nordic leaders.
“Are there any developments on the public inquiry?” a reporter asked in French.
Trudeau responded, “I know that productive talks are being held among the parties, and we want that to continue.”
He added, “We’ll move forward.”
“Productive Talks”
It’s unclear what Trudeau meant by “productive talks,” but his answer seemed to satisfy the reporter.
Trudeau of course didn’t mention that in March, he snubbed a majority vote by elected Canadian MPs to have a public inquiry into the alleged interference.
Instead, Trudeau appointed a Liberal-controlled committee to investigate the matter privately.
In May, the Liberal PM was cleared of any wrongdoing by his hand-picked “special rapporteur,” and self-proclaimed family-friend, David Johnson. Johnson later resigned from his role amid conflict of interest accusations.
Chinese interference saga
The call for a public inquiry started in February from opposition parties, after several leaks to the media from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service indicated the Chinese Communist Party interfered in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections, including with the intention to help Trudeau win.
Earlier this year, two leaked intelligence reports indicated that Prime Minister Trudeau lied about his awareness of the interference.
Trudeau’s Chief of Staff, Katie Telford, admitted under oath that “it’s quite possible” Trudeau was briefed on the issue of election interference.
Shortly after, a poll showed that one in five Canadians don’t believe Trudeau was legitimately elected as questions about Chinese electoral interference lingered.
Correction: The Counter Signal wrongly used the words “working together” instead of “productive talks” in the first heading, as well as the excerpt under the article’s headline. Trudeau did not say “working together” when describing the public inquiry, but that “productive talks are being held among the parties” on the matter, as translated by CPAC. We apologize for the mistake.
