Politics·Live
The independent inquiry into foreign electoral interference begins public hearings today. Its first item of business is working out what it can — and can’t — talk about publicly.
The inquiry is set to hear from CSIS Director David Vigneault and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc
Catharine Tunney · CBC
· Posted: Jan 29, 2024 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago
Foreign interference inquiry begins today in OttawaThe inquiry probing foreign electoral interference begins public hearings today. Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue’s first item of business is working out what can be discussed out in the open.
The independent inquiry into foreign electoral interference begins public hearings today. Its first item of business is working out what it can — and can’t — talk about publicly.
The inquiry — officially the “Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions” — was triggered by media reports last year which, citing unnamed security sources and classified documents, accused China of interfering in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue has been asked to investigate the extent to which China, Russia and other nations interfered in those elections, and how information about foreign interference flowed within the federal government. Just last week, the commission asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to share information about possible meddling in elections by India.
In her opening remarks Monday, Hogue said she and her team will make every effort “to get to the bottom of things and understand what the country has faced — and what it may still be facing in terms of foreign interference.”
But before the inquiry team can dig into the core issues, it first needs to decide how it can share national security information with the public when classified documents and sources are involved.
The preliminary hearings run Monday to Friday at the Library and Archives Canada building, not far from Parliament Hill. According to the commission’s written mandate, the preliminary hearings will probe “the challenges, limitations and potential adverse impacts associated with the disclosure of classified national security information and intelligence to the public.”
Hogue said the commission’s goal is to “search for the truth” and share those facts with the public as much as possible.
The inquiry will hear this week from Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director David Vigneault, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, current and former security officials and legal experts.
Stephanie Carvin, a professor of international relations at Carleton University and a former national security analyst with CSIS, said the first week will be all about setting ground rules for dealing with sensitive issues and testimony.
A person is seen at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions as it begins hearings, Monday, January 29, 2024 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)Despite some of the legal barriers surrounding classified information, she said, CSIS has an opportunity here to be more candid with Canadians about the threat.
“This is a very big public forum to make a very definitive statement about the situation in Canada. There is an opportunity here for the service to put its case forward,” she said.
“Whether or not the service will take the opportunity to do so is questionable. They’re not comfortable in these environments, just to put it mildly.”
Inquiry will dig into the big picture in MarchCarvin said Hogue also has to create an environment where victims of foreign interference feel they can come forward without facing retaliation.
“My hope is that the victims will be heard,” said Carvin. “For too long, we’ve looked at foreign interference as a non-Canadian problem. We’ve looked at this as an overseas problem, or as an issue that doesn’t impact Canadians. But these are our neighbours.”
Hogue said Monday the commission will consider holding in-camera hearings for those who fear for their safety and the safety of their families.
WATCH | Foreign interference inquiry aims to ‘uncover the truth,’ commissioner says
Foreign interference inquiry aims to ‘uncover the truth,’ commissioner saysCommissioner Marie-Josée Hogue says ‘everyone must work toward the same goal’ as the inquiry into foreign political interference gets underway.
In March, the commission will examine the extent to which foreign interference occurred in past elections. In the fall, the inquiry will examine the government’s ability to detect, deter and counter foreign interference.
The road to this inquiry has been long and contentious.
The government initially resisted opposition pressure to call an inquiry and instead asked special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston to investigate the issues and decide whether an inquiry was needed.
The former governor general concluded that foreign governments are attempting to influence Canadian politics but recommended against an inquiry, arguing that much of the classified information he had reviewed would need to remain secret.
Opposition parties were outraged by Johnston’s conclusion. The NDP tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling for his resignation. The motion passed with the support of the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois; both of those parties had questioned Johnston’s impartiality in the past.
Johnston resigned the position in June, saying his role had become too muddled in political controversy for him to continue.
Opposition MPs then argued that a public inquiry into foreign interference would be the only way to maintain Canadians’ confidence in the electoral system.
Clashes over party status The inquiry is still mired in controversy, calling into question what it can expect to achieve.
In December, Hogue turned down a plea by a coalition of human rights groups to limit the standing of three men accused of having ties to the Chinese government.
David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), prepares to appear before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. Vigneault will testify this week as the inquiry decides what it can discuss in the open. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)The Human Rights Coalition opposed granting full standing to independent MP Han Dong (a former Liberal MP) and Markham’s deputy mayor Michael Chan, and intervener status to Sen. Yuen Pau Woo, arguing their “possible links and support for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)” disqualified them.
Hogue wrote in response that she “cannot make findings of fact or jump to conclusions before hearing the evidence.” The men have denied the allegations.
Hogue also rejected the Conservative Party’s request for full standing and instead granted it intervener status.
In a statement, the Conservative Party called Hogue’s decision “deeply concerning” and said it “undermines the credibility of the entire process.”
Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong, himself a target of an interference campaign, does have full standing in the inquiry. Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, who has said CSIS informed him he’s been an ongoing target of a Chinese government campaign of misinformation, has intervener status.
NDP MP Jenny Kwan — who says CSIS has told her she has been targeted by the Chinese government — has full party status in the inquiry, while her party has intervener status.
Hogue said she could still ask interveners or the interveners’ lawyers to ask certain witnesses questions “if I feel, along the way, that it may be useful in better understanding certain facts.”
Her interim report is due May 3 and her final report is due by the end of the year.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Catharine Tunney is a reporter with CBC’s Parliament Hill bureau, where she covers national security and the RCMP. She worked previously for CBC in Nova Scotia. You can reach her at catharine.tunney@cbc.ca
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