CSIS Fearmongering About Chinese Interference in Canadian Elections
Trudeau's accusations about Chinese interference in Canada's political affairs, including its elections, seem to have been prompted by propaganda the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is promoting at the behest of the Five Eyes intelligence agencies in the service of U.S. and British war aims. The influence of the spy agency on political affairs is increasingly seen in parliamentary proceedings. In November, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) held two sessions to study foreign interference in Canada's elections.
Adam Fisher, CSIS director general of intelligence assessments, told PROC that Russia and China "tend to be the two big players" and that "China is the 'foremost aggressor' when it comes to foreign interference in Western countries and 'works within' their political systems 'to corrupt' them," the Globe and Mail wrote.
A few days later, Canadian media outlets reported that beginning in January, officials with CSIS delivered a series of briefings and memos to the Prime Minister and several cabinet members that alleged that China has been "targeting Canada with a vast campaign of foreign interference, which includes funding a clandestine network of at least 11 federal candidates running in the 2019 election." Global News reported that "those efforts allegedly involve payments through intermediaries to candidates affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, placing agents into the offices of MPs in order to influence policy, seeking to co-opt and corrupt former Canadian officials to gain leverage in Ottawa, and mounting aggressive campaigns to punish Canadian politicians whom the People's Republic of China views as threats to its interests."
Media reports cite former CSIS officials who claim that the alleged interference is due to lax legislation that has left "loopholes" for interference to take place, which should be closed with new legislation. Various examples of such Chinese "influence operations" are given.
Nonetheless, the fearmongering appears to be just that, and neither the remarks of CSIS to PROC nor the media reports square with the experience of Elections Canada and the Commissioner of Canada Elections, who were not given any instances of offences under the Canada Elections Act to address.
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault appeared before PROC on November 22. When asked by MP Michael Cooper whether "the Prime Minister or anyone in his office reported to Elections Canada any particulars concerning a campaign of interference by Beijing?" Perrault stated, "I'm not aware of any specifics regarding campaigns of interference by Beijing other than what I've read in the [Global News] article." When asked to further clarify "that no report has been made by the Prime Minister or anyone in his office," he stated, "Madam Chair, that is what I said. I would like to remind the committee that the mandate of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, unlike my own mandate, is to investigate cases of non-compliance. If there is evidence to support an investigation regarding an offence under the Canada Elections Act, that information should go to the Commissioner of Canada Elections." He further added, "I've not received any reports regarding specific instances of non-compliance with the legislation or specific instances of Chinese interference in the election" and was also not aware that the Commissioner of Canada Elections had received such a report either.
Nonetheless, CSIS fearmongering continued to be the reference point for PROC members. During further questioning, MP Ryan Turnbull asked Perrault, "In your opinion, was the election in 2019 fair and free in Canada?" To this the Chief Electoral Officer replied, "I have no reason, Madam Chair, to believe that the election overall was not a free and fair election." He answered a follow-up question about the 2021 election, saying, "In my opinion, there's no reason to believe that [the 2021 election] was not a free and fair election."
In response to further questioning along these lines, Perrault advised PROC members, "We have to be careful about newspaper articles and the media. I don't want to question the journalistic work, but there was no investigation. We don't know what happened or which constituencies are affected. We don't know if money was given to candidates for their campaigns or for personal use. Are we talking about corruption of individuals or influence in the financing of elections? I don't have that information.
"So we have to be careful when reading a media article before making a statement about the fairness of an election and the consequences that may result."
Asked by MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau if the Canada Elections Act is sound, he replied, "I think we have an excellent regime. Having said that, some things could be improved. I've shared that with the committee and I can elaborate on it as needed. All in all, I think our political finance regime is the envy of just about every other regime in the world."
The Commissioner of Canada Elections' website lists charges laid under the Canada Elections Act and Referendum Act since February 2011. The last outcome listed is for December 10, 2020. The last press release, dated November 7, relates to "Seven Administrative Monetary Penalties and an Undertaking for Canada Elections Act violations." These violations concerned:
- the leader of a political party for failing to register as a third party immediately after having reached $500 or more in election advertising expenses for election advertising messages transmitted during the election period, and for failing to appoint a financial agent;
- a candidate for a registered party who failed to appoint an auditor after having received more than 10 per cent of the votes cast in their electoral district;
- a candidate for a registered party who failed to appoint a replacement official agent; and
- three official agents who failed to produce a candidate's electoral campaign return within the required deadline following the 2019 general election.
None of these most recent violations pertain to any sort of foreign interference in elections.
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 8 - November 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2022/Articles/MS52084.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca