A new document given to Canada's Foreign Interference Commission suggests that Chinese officials may have offered $250,000 to "threat actors" in 2018 and 2019, according to a new report from The Globe and Mail.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service document on election interference said that prior to and during the 2019 election “a group of known and suspected People’s Republic of China related threat actors in Canada, including PRC officials, worked in loose coordination with one another to covertly advance PRC interests though Canadian democratic institutions.”
“Some of these threat actors received financial support from the PRC,” and says “reporting indicated that 11 political candidates and 13 political staff members were assessed to be either implicated in or impacted by this group of threat actors," the document says.
The report suggests the $250,000 from Chinese officials in Canada was likely for foreign interference rather than political donations.
It describes the complex routing of these funds through various individuals to mask their origin, eventually reaching a staff member of a 2019 federal election candidate and an Ontario MPP, via an influential community leader, the Mail wrote.
According to the document, the implicated candidates include seven Liberals and four Conservatives, with some knowingly participating in foreign interference activities, while others were oblivious due to the secretive nature of the operations.
The federal government initiated the Foreign Interference Commission inquiry in September, led by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, in response to reports by The Globe and Mail on Chinese interference in Canadian democracy.
The inquiry, which took place on Thursday, featured testimonies from senior officials of CSIS, the RCMP, the Department of Global Affairs, and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada's electronic intelligence agency.
Dan Rogers, a former CSE official and now the deputy national security adviser, revealed the CSE had intelligence post-2021 election about alleged fund distributions, which was shared with the RCMP and CSIS, though specifics weren't disclosed. RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme stated that no criminal investigations into foreign interference were opened for the 2019 or 2021 elections, as no intelligence received warranted such actions.
However, an investigation into foreign interference was launched following the last general election when Conservative MP Michael Chong reported being targeted by China.
Too bad the Biden family doesn't do business in Canada - the PRC probably could have gotten influence a lot easier that way, though it may have cost a bit more due to the need to support Hunter's "lifestyle" and "social agenda".
