Rebel News reporter Robert Kraychik is providing comprehensive independent coverage of the public hearings for the Foreign Interference Commission, which is investigating alarming allegations of foreign meddling in Canada’s elections.

The commission says the hearings "will focus on the interference that China, Russia and other foreign actors may have engaged in, and any impact it may have had on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections."

These are serious allegations about foreign influences potentially undermining our democratic processes. 

The first public hearings will begin on January 29 and run until February 2. The hearings will begin at 10 a.m. ET and run until about 4:30 p.m. ET each day. A second set of hearings will be held in March, and a third set will likely be scheduled in the fall.

Check ProtectOurDemocracy.ca throughout the Foreign Interference Commission hearings for all of our latest reports.

Please also sign our petition at KickThemOut.ca, calling on the government to kick out the Chinese surveillance police stations that have popped up throughout our country.

Robert Kraychik is posting live updates from day two of the hearings on X, follow his updates below:

The Foreign Interference Commission just wasted 30 minutes of the public hearing with a French professor rambling about balancing the public's right to access government information and the need for government secrecy to protect national security. https://t.co/gNW43frXUU

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) January 30, 2024

This is a feature of academia, overcomplicating simple concepts a 13-year-old can quickly come to understand via verbosity in an attempt to appear deeply educated, while implying that the Rest Of Us require such lengthy explanations. https://t.co/IocDMo8Erh

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) January 30, 2024

Professor Michael Nesbitt makes a good point: application of law is heavily weighted towards punishing leakers of government secrets as opposed to punishing those who excessively classify/hide information and fail to uphold public transparency standards. https://t.co/gNW43frXUU

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) January 30, 2024

He also notes that Access to Information Act (ATIA) disputes between government and parties seeking disclosure are often years-long and drawn out; by their resolution, the initial classifier of the documents/information has moved on and changed roles. https://t.co/sGcziGWWT0

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) January 30, 2024

Broad themes of today's Foreign Interference Commission hearing are presented by three professors with legal expertise explaining challenges of balancing national security and public transparency in the context of disclosure disputes over classified information, resolution…

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) January 30, 2024

Authority over disclosure of classified information provided to the Canadian government via Five Eyes states rests with the government that originally obtained and shared the information, explains professor Leah West. https://t.co/gNW43frXUU

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) January 30, 2024

If any information deemed classified is shared with the Foreign Interference Commission that came from a Five Eyes partner state, it will be presented in an in-camera (private) proceeding, attended only by the commissioner, her counsel, and party sharing the classified…

— Robert Kraychik (@rkraychik) January 30, 2024