espionage
The foreign interference inquiry could backfire on our national security
From the MacDonald Laurier Institute
By Katherine Leung and Ivy Li
Two politicians alleged by security experts to have close connections with the Chinese Consulates have been granted full standing in the inquiry by Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue.
Canada’s public inquiry into foreign interference finally began on Monday, but unfortunately there has already been significant controversy in the months leading up to its launch. Chief among these concerns is the inquiry’s questionable ability to safeguard sensitive national security information from being used by individuals with ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Two politicians alleged by security experts to have close connections with the Chinese Consulates have been granted full standing in the inquiry by Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue. This decision shocked many, especially communities who have been subjected to the Chinese Communist Party’s transnational repression.
Given the inclusion of these two suspect individuals, human rights activists have expressed concern for their safety if they are called to testify before the inquiry. A human rights coalition, which was also granted full standing, appealed the inclusion of the two individuals – they merely asked Hogue to downgrade the politicians’ standing status in order to protect vulnerable witnesses – but the appeal was denied.
A person who has full standing in the inquiry has the right to cross-examine witnesses and to access documentary evidence not admitted as exhibits, meaning they read and see exactly what the judge reads and sees. Knowing anything and everything the Commission has learned gives unimpeded access to sensitive and confidential information related to Canadian national security, information that is not available to parties with lesser standing.
Information gathered by the Commission will almost certainly reveal how Canadian activists and security experts monitor foreign infiltration and influence. It could expose the methodology used, contacts and information sources, and the strategic approach and rationale of each expert or analyst. Together, these bits and pieces of information will provide a detailed strategic map, exposing how Canadian authorities, non-governmental organizations, grassroots groups, and individuals have attempted to defend Canada’s sovereignty and democratic institutions. This is powerful knowledge; it is not the type of information that should be available to the perpetrators of foreign interference.
By granting standing to individuals with alleged ties to the Chinese embassy, we are potentially offering incredible insight to our adversaries, enabling them to design and execute more effective interference operations and targeted counter actions against the Canadians standing up for our national sovereignty.
Among those granted full standing are Han Dong (the Member of Parliament for Don Valley North) and Michael Chan. Dong was reported by Global News to be at the centre of China’s interference network in Canada as a “willing affiliate”. He subsequently left the Liberal caucus as he works to clear his name, and he continues to sit as an independent MP. Michael Chan, now deputy mayor of Markham, was a minister in the Ontario Liberal government from 2007 to 2018. The Globe and Mail reported that he was identified by CSIS as “too close to the Chinese consulate.” Both Dong and Chan deny these allegations.
Hogue cites the two men’s reputational interest in the Public Inquiry as a direct and substantial interest in the Commission’s work. While that is true, the question remains whether it is in Canada’s interests and appropriate to allow individuals alleged to have close ties with the PRC full access to the Commission’s evidence and records.
The Commission is not mandated to determine if individual suspects are guilty or not. The two politicians could tell their side of the story without full access to non-exhibits and without the power of cross-examination.
Canadians have demanded a public inquiry to protect Canadian sovereignty and democratic integrity. Sensitive information pertaining to Canada’s national security should be handled with the utmost caution. Han Dong and Michael Chan should not be treated as though allegations against them have been proven beyond a doubt – they have not – but the clear potential of inappropriate links to the PRC should disqualify them from accessing information that would be detrimental to our national security if it were to fall into the wrong hands.
The public inquiry meant to protect Canada’s institutions from foreign interference may end up undermining both the safety of individual Canadians and the efficacy of our broader national security apparatus.
Katherine Leung is the policy advisor for Hong Kong Watch Canada. She previously worked as a parliamentary assistant to a sitting MP.
Ivy Li is a spokesperson for Canadian Friends of Hong Kong, and a contributor to The Mosaic Effect – How the Chinese Communist Party started a hybrid war in America’s backyard.
From LifeSiteNews
By Frank Wright
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, head of the new House Oversight Task Force on Declassification, called the official narrative of the JFK assassination ‘faulty’ and said she believes ‘there were two shooters.’
On January 23 President Donald Trump signed an executive order to declassify and release all records of the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King.
Fulfilling a promise initially made in his first presidential term and repeated ahead of his second, Donald Trump has issued an order “providing Americans the truth after six decades of secrecy.”
Trump’s interim Director of National Intelligence Lora Shiao was ordered to “present a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of all John F. Kennedy assassination records…”
Following this directive, the FBI has revealed the existence of thousands more “previously unknown” files relating to the JFK assassination. As Fox News reported on February 10:
“The FBI conducted a new records search pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order issued on January 23, 2025, regarding the declassification of the assassination files of JFK, RFK, and MLK. The search resulted in approximately 2400 newly inventoried and digitized records that were previously unrecognized as related to the JFK assassination case file…”
Trump’s nominees on a ‘glide path’
In a Wednesday Senate vote Tulsi Gabbard is expected to be confirmed as permanent National Intelligence chief – described as the principal advisor to the president. She will oversee this process when confirmed.
Trump also seeks to install Kash Patel as the new head of the FBI. Patel has promised to publish the client list of notorious Mossad-linked sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on the first day of his tenure.
In addition, he intends to publish documents detailing “Russiagate” and all information relating to the origins of COVID-19.
Democrats have alleged Patel is “secretly overseeing a purge of the FBI” before his appointment has been confirmed. Senator Adam Schiff is now charging Patel with perjury.
Could this be related to what Patel says about Adam Schiff here?
“Adam Schiff is the single most responsible person for spreading disinformation on Russiagate: saying he had evidence Donald Trump colluded with Russia.”
Patel is also expected to be approved by the Republican-majority senate, with the process leading to his Thursday confirmation hearing described as a “glide path” by the scandal-hit outlet Politico. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also expects to be appointed Health and Human Services chief following his nomination vote.
New 9/11, assassination, COVID investgations
In an additional move, the Trump administration has seen the creation of the House Oversight Task Force on Declassification.
Announced by its new leader, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, the task force will not be restricted to the oversight of publishing formerly classified files.
Luna said it would be conducting new investigations into 9/11, the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, as well as the “origins of COVID-19,” the Jeffrey Epstein case, and unidentified aerial and subsea objects known as “UAPs” and “USOs.”
As independent journalist Michael Shellenberger pointed out in the tweet above, “For decades, presidents said they told us everything they could about Covid, JFK, Epstein, UAPs and more. They lied.”
The first hearing is “set for March,” Luna announced, describing her task force as a “beacon of bipartisanship” with the participation of both Republicans and Democrats.
A break with the past
Luna stressed that this was a complete break with the past, saying this will not be “a task force that makes bold promises only to fade into irrelevance or send strongly worded letters.”
“This will be a relentless pursuit of truth and transparency and will not stop until the American people have the answers they deserve.”
Luna presented a complete shift in how the U.S. government sees its relation to governed.
“We have been treated like children for too long and kept in the dark by those we elected to serve us.”
Luna’s remarks may serve as a statement of the Trump administration’s vision for restoring America. She argued, “If we are to endure as a nation, we must restore trust – trust through transparency.”
Marking a shift from the manufacture of public opinion by the state sponsorship of news and mass culture, Luna continued, “The American people must be trusted to think for themselves, to form their own judgments from the truth they are entitled to know.”
Official verdict on JFK ‘faulty’: ‘I believe there were two shooters’
Luna also announced Tuesday night that “based on what I have seen so far” of the unreleased JFK files, “I believe there were two shooters” involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. Luna described the official verdict of a “single bullet theory” as “faulty.”
The revelations from the new JFK files have already begun. What they and the other disclosures contain will be released to inform a new vision of the national interest. The Trump administration is not only saying it is keeping its promises to Americans, but also announcing it wishes to govern in the open and will trust the public to make its own mind up, in place of manufacturing public opinion for political ends.
USAID wasn’t just funding biased reporting. They were actively reshaping foreign governments.
Former State Department official Mike Benz, an expert on cyber policy, censorship, and information warfare, appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience Wednesday and dropped jaw-dropping insights into USAID’s absurd abuse of US tax dollars.
According to Benz, USAID has been funneling taxpayer dollars into so-called investigative journalism, but the real goal isn’t transparency—it is control.
“Everything they do is a hit piece about an instance of corruption that can be used by prosecutors in the area to arrest the political opponents of the State Department,” Benz explained.
USAID’s program, officially called Strengthening Transparency and Accountability through Investigative Reporting, claims to promote a free press. But Benz revealed its true purpose is to ruin people’s lives and go after political targets in order to change the policies of foreign governments from the inside.
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For a mere investment of $20 million, USAID’s state-sponsored hit pieces were able to:
• Generate at least $4.5 billion in fines against targets of these hit pieces.
• Influence over 548 policy changes across foreign governments and private sectors.
USAID justified these programs under the term “capacity building,” which Benz warned is a red flag. “Now, this is the phrase everybody has to know. Capacity building is what this is all built under. That means pumping up the Blob’s assets,” he explained.
And USAID wasn’t just funding biased reporting. They were actively reshaping foreign governments. Benz revealed 548 policy changes resulted from these state-sponsored media attacks, which he suggested were for the “furtherance of USAID’s or the State Department’s foreign policy goals.”
Think about what that means. The U.S. government is secretly funding media outlets to push narratives, destroy political opponents, and manipulate foreign policy, all under the guise of investigative journalism.
The question is – if they’re doing this overseas, how much of it is happening at home?
Watch the full conversation below:
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