Trudeau told about foreign interference concerns in secret 2017 memo
A secret 2017 memo told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not to criticize China despite the growing presence of foreign agents. 'Although there are other countries conducting foreign influenced activities in Canada, the People’s Republic of China is the most active,' it reads.
A secret 2017 memo told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not to criticize China despite the growing presence of foreign agents.
“The Canadian Security Intelligence Service describes Chinese foreign influence activities in Canada as sophisticated, pervasive and persistent,” reads the 2017 Memorandum For The Prime Minister. “Although there are other countries conducting foreign influenced activities in Canada, the People’s Republic of China is the most active,” it added.
Disclosed to Trudeau on June 29, 2017, the redacted five-page memo mentioned China 28 times, reported Blacklock’s Reporter. At the time, Cabinet was negotiating a free trade agreement with the Asiatic superpower.
John McCallum, then-Ambassador to China, promised “free trade discussions” with China. “I am going to China to work for broader and deeper ties between our two countries,” he said.
At the Commission on Foreign Interference, Trudeau testified to receiving national security memos by word of mouth. He claimed to have never read any documents.
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“We are engaged in trade negotiations toward Asia, whether it is the Comprehensive And Progressive Agreement For Trans-Pacific Partnership, whether it is China,” Trudeau told MPs on December 12, 2017, cited as six months after he received the memo.
“This is a very sensitive issue and public efforts to raise awareness should remain general and not single out specific countries to avoid potential bilateral incidents,” the 2017 memo reads.
It represents the first reported instance of the prime minister being briefed on foreign interference threats to Canada’s democracy.
The memo explained that Chinese agents are “intimidating and threatening” Canada’s Chinese diaspora and could “influence the outcomes of Canadian elections.”
“This could be deemed illegal by Canadian courts,” it furthers.
Trudeau claims he was never given information on China's election interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections, but CSIS documents shown at the Foreign Interference Commission show otherwise.
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In addition, the memo attempted to alert the prime minister of foreign actors attempting to “pressure Canadian officials” and “influence the publication of Canadian media content which portrays the Chinese government negatively."
“Canadians of Chinese ethnicity and those who are publicly critical of People’s Republic of China policies are most frequently subject to such threatening behaviour,” it reads.
According to in-house Privy Council research at the time, Canadians were wary of free trade with China. “This input is needed,” said the International Relations Survey.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Canadians opposed a free trade agreement owing to China’s “poor human rights record.” Asked if they would support a trade pact offering Canadian consumers cheaper China-made goods, a quarter (26%) called it “a weak argument.”
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