The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of an independent special rapporteur to investigate allegations of Chinese interference in the last two general elections. The special rapporteur will make “expert recommendations to combat interference and strengthen our democracy,” Trudeau said. He also ordered the parliamentary committee on national security and intelligence to launch an inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections.
In recent weeks, several Canadian media outlets have had published reports based on intelligence informationthat the People’s Republic tried to influence the 2019 and 2021 elections. It allegedly secretly co-financed the electoral campaigns of certain candidates – especially the candidates of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party. According to some reports, the Chinese government wanted to prevent a conservative government. China Influence in Canada is waning. The People’s Republic is said to have asked its diplomats to influence the vote in favour of Liberal candidates in ridings with many ethnic Chinese voters. China has rejected the allegations as “defamatory”.
The opposition had criticized Trudeau for his delay
Any attempt at interference by a foreign actor is “worrying and serious,” Trudeau said. He added that “the Chinese government and other regimes like Iran and Russia have tried to interfere not only in our democracy, but in our country in general.” However, this is “not a new problem.”
Opposition parties have been calling for an independent public inquiry into the matter for days. and criticized Trudeau for his delay. The prime minister said his government would follow the rapporteur’s recommendations. They could “include a formal inquiry or other independent review process.” The committee now mandated by Trudeau had already presented a report on the issue in 2019 and had called on the government to do more.
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