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Democracy Watch Calls Hogue Foreign Interference Report “Mostly a Coverup”

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A Hogue Commission document shows a 2021 election digital ad attacking then-Conservative leader Erin O’Toole in a Toronto-area grocery store that is linked to a pro-Beijing businessman.

Sam Cooper

Hogue Report Fuels Diaspora Fears Over Ottawa’s Foreign Interference Weakness

Friends of Hong Kong, a non-partisan diaspora group that withdrew from Ottawa’s Foreign Interference Commission a year ago over concerns it would whitewash Chinese interference and endanger diaspora groups, has issued a blistering rebuke of Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue’s final report.

The group argues the 16-month inquiry fails to show the federal government can counter foreign interference.

In a statement detailing their misgivings, the human rights group says the final report “only serves to deepen our serious reservations regarding our government’s willingness and ability to tackle foreign interference.”

The group criticizes Commissioner Hogue for what they deem to be a pattern of “wilful blindness” in assessing the significance of alleged meddling in Canada’s democratic processes. They also take issue with Hogue’s characterization of foreign interference as “isolated cases,” emphasizing that “even one such case is too many for a democracy like ours.”

In February 2024, group leader Ivy Li explained its public statement and decision not to participate, citing concerns about the Commission’s “objectivity and security integrity.” She said these worries partly stemmed from the perception of Commissioner Hogue’s prior professional links to legal networks affiliated with various former Liberal prime ministers, and from a fear that the inquiry would not deeply probe China’s sophisticated, decades-long influence networks in Canada.

“Judge Hogue and her counsel are lacking expertise in how the Chinese Communist Party thinks and operates,” Li said, “[so] they will easily be manipulated in the whole process by Chinese Communist Party proxies.”

Li also pointed to Hogue’s past work at a Quebec law firm with ties to Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien—two prime ministers known for deep political and business connections to the Chinese Communist regime and Liberal-linked industrialists—as a source of concern for Canadian Friends of Hong Kong.

Among the group’s critiques in a statement issued yesterday is a charge that Hogue “downplayed” the threats posed by transnational repression.

“Justice Hogue adds another blow to the confidence of the diaspora communities,” the group’s statement reads, noting many community members live “under constant fear and threats.”

The organization also disputes the commissioner’s assessment that parliamentarians with “problematic relationships” or “questionable ethics” merely acted naively. “It demonstrates a lack of understanding of the extent and threat that such parliamentarians pose to Canadian democracy,” the group warns, expressing fear that Hogue’s approach “will only condone more of such conduct.”

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In addition, Canadian Friends of Hong Kong calls for immediate legislation to implement a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry. They urge that the registry’s scope extend beyond the Lobbying Act to include all political parties, all levels of government, and any appointed public office holders. They also call for granting the commissioner and registry full independence from the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

A second diaspora group, representing Uyghur Canadians, similarly withdrew from the Commission in January 2024. Both organizations cited concerns that senior officials with potential ties to the Chinese government were given high-level access during the proceedings. In a post to X yesterday, Uyghur Canadian group leader Mehmet Tohti wrote: “Downplaying the impact of hostile interference, infiltration, and influence in Canada by the [Commission] not only undermines the gravity of the threat but also sends a dangerous message—whether intentionally or not—that such activities can continue unchecked. … The Commissioner and the commission must recognize that this is not just a policy issue; for many of us, it is a matter of life and death.”

Meanwhile, Duff Conacher, a longtime transparency advocate with Democracy Watch, also took aim at Hogue’s final report, calling it “mostly a cover-up of foreign interference, because it ignores a dozen loopholes in federal laws that allow for secret, undemocratic and unethical spending, fundraising, donations, loans, lobbying and disinformation campaigns by foreign proxies.”

Democracy Watch stated the report “fails to recommend crucial reforms to Canada’s enforcement bodies, which remain politically dependent, slow to act, ineffective, secretive, and unaccountable.” The group added, “Any party that triggers an election before these changes are enacted should be shunned by voters for enabling foreign interference.”

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2025 Federal Election

Hong Kong-Canadian Groups Demand PM Carney Drop Liberal Candidate Over “Bounty” Remark Supporting CCP Repression

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Sam Cooper

Thirteen Hong Kong-Canadian organizations are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party to immediately revoke the candidacy of MP Paul Chiang, alleging he “may have violated Canadian laws” after making explosive remarks that appeared to endorse a Chinese Communist Party bounty targeting a Toronto-area Conservative candidate.

The controversy centers on Chiang’s comments during a January meeting with Chinese-language media in Toronto, where the Markham–Unionville Liberal incumbent said, “If you can take him to the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto, you can get the million-dollar reward,” referring to Joe Tay, the Conservative candidate in Don Valley North who is wanted by Hong Kong authorities for running a pro-democracy YouTube channel in Canada.

The response from Mark Carney’s Liberals appears increasingly conflicted, especially in light of remarks made last year by the party’s top foreign affairs official concerning Chinese transnational repression targeting Hong Kong immigrants in Canada.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly issued a warning in December, stating: “This attempt by Hong Kong authorities to conduct transnational repression abroad, including by issuing threats, intimidation or coercion against Canadians or those in Canada, will not be tolerated.”

Tay had remained silent since the revelations broke Friday. But on Sunday evening, he made his first public statement in a post on X.

“This is the most challenging time in our lifetime, and we must give it everything we’ve got to protect this place we call home. A fourth term for the Liberals is not an option,” Tay wrote.

About the same time, Paul Chiang posted his own statement on social media, offering a direct apology to Tay.

“Today, I spoke with Joseph Tay, the Conservative candidate for Don Valley North, to personally apologize for the comments that I made this past January. It was a terrible lapse of judgement. I recognize the severity of the statement and I am deeply disappointed in myself. As a 28-year police veteran, I have always strived to treat people with respect and dignity. In this case, I failed to meet that standard. I know better and it will never happen again.”

Despite the apology, a Carney campaign spokesperson told reporters Sunday that the party would not remove Chiang from the ballot.

Now, leading Hong Kong Canadian advocacy groups are intensifying pressure, saying Chiang’s comments amount to a tacit endorsement of Beijing’s foreign repression network — a growing concern for Canadian authorities, especially after Ottawa’s diplomatic expulsion of a Chinese official last year over threats to MP Michael Chong’s family.

“The integrity of Canada’s democratic elections has been damaged,” the groups wrote in a joint statement. “Paul Chiang’s actions may have violated Canadian laws, including the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act and the Canada Elections Act.”

Meanwhile, as the chorus of political condemnation grew beyond criticism from Conservative Party leaders, NDP MP Jenny Kwan — herself a victim of targeted Chinese interference, according to testimony at the Hogue Commission — stood with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and several candidates in Vancouver and addressed the Chiang scandal directly.

“He is a police officer, and he ought to know that when the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] went out and put a bounty on anybody, including Canadians, that cannot be acceptable. That is intimidation at its worst,” Kwan said.

“And yet, he played right into it. He advocated for people to bring [Tay] to the Chinese consulate to collect the bounty. In what universe is this normal?”

Kwan added the remarks are especially damaging while Canada is facing “active, sophisticated foreign interference activities targeting Canada’s democratic institutions.”

The Hong Kong Canadian groups described Chiang’s apology as “insincere” and “a tactic to downplay the seriousness of his outrageous comments.” They argue that any politician “truly sympathetic to oppressed Hongkongers” would never suggest delivering a Canadian citizen to a hostile foreign government’s diplomatic outpost.

“Chiang’s remarks legitimize foreign interference and potentially threaten Tay’s safety,” the statement reads. “This is not just about an offhand comment — it’s about whether our elected officials are willing to stand up to transnational repression or not.”

The joint release also cites findings from a national survey showing that 85.4% of Hongkonger-Canadian respondents are deeply concerned about transnational repression and infiltration in Canada, while 40.9% reported reducing public political engagement due to safety fears.

“Chiang’s remarks exemplify how foreign interference continues to cast a shadow over Hong Kong immigrants’ lives in Canada,” the groups said, emphasizing that more than 60% of respondents are alarmed by Canada’s handling of relations with China, particularly the influence of Chinese diplomatic institutions operating within Canadian borders.

“The Liberal Party must send a clear message that intimidation or threats against political candidates will not be tolerated,” the statement continues. “Canadians — particularly those who fled authoritarian regimes — deserve a democracy free from foreign interference.”

The Bureau has contacted the Liberal Party for further comment. This is a developing story. More to follow.

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2025 Federal Election

Canadian officials warn Communist China ‘highly likely’ to interfere in 2025 election

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The Canadian government believes China will use specific tools ahead of the April election such as AI and social media to specifically target ‘Chinese ethnic, cultural, and religious communities in Canada using clandestine and deceptive means.’

Canadian officials from the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force warned that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government will most likely try to interfere in Canada’s upcoming federal election.

Vanessa Lloyd, chair of the task force, observed during a March 24 press conference that “it is expected that the People’s Republic of China, or PRC, will likely continue to target Canadian democratic institutions and civil society to advance its strategic objectives.”

SITE is made up of representatives of multiple Canadian departments and agencies that have a security mandate.

Lloyd’s regular job is as the Deputy Director of Operations, second in charge, for Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

According to Lloyd, officials from China as well as CCP proxies will be “likely to conduct foreign interference activity using a complex array of both overt and covert mechanisms.”

Her warning comes after the final report from the Foreign Interference Commission concluded that operatives from the CCP may have had a hand in helping to elect a handful of MPs in both the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. It also concluded that China was the primary foreign interference threat to Canada.

The commission shed light on how CCP agents and proxies conduct election interference, with one method being to rally community groups to make sure certain election candidates are looked down upon.

According to Lloyd, it is “highly likely” that China will engage in certain election meddling using specific tools such as AI.

“The PRC is highly likely to use AI-enabled tools to attempt to interfere with Canada’s democratic process in this current election,” she noted, adding that China will also use social media as well to “specifically target Chinese ethnic, cultural, and religious communities in Canada using clandestine and deceptive means.”

Canada will hold its next federal election on April 28 after Prime Minister Mark Carney triggered it on Sunday.

As reported by LifeSiteNews earlier in the month, a new exposé by investigative journalist Sam Cooper claims there is compelling evidence that Carney and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are strongly influenced by an “elite network” of foreign actors, including those with ties to communist China and the World Economic Forum.

In light of multiple accusations of foreign meddling in Canadian elections, the federal Foreign Interference Commission was convened last year to “examine and assess the interference by China, Russia, and other foreign states or non-state actors, including any potential impacts, to confirm the integrity of, and any impacts on, the 43rd and 44th general elections (2019 and 2021 elections) at the national and electoral district levels.”

The commission was formed after Trudeau’s special rapporteur, former Governor General David Johnston, failed in an investigation into CCP allegations after much delay. That inquiry was not done in public and was headed by Johnston, who is a “family friend” of Trudeau.

Johnston quit as “special rapporteur” after a public outcry following his conclusion that there should not be a public inquiry into the matter. Conservative MPs demanded Johnston be replaced over his ties to China and the Trudeau family.

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