| Translate This News In |
|---|
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed the selection of an impartial special rapporteur to look into claims of Chinese meddling in Canada’s most recent two federal elections.
In recent weeks, a number of reports in the Canadian media have described alleged attempts by Beijing to meddle in those elections. These reports were founded on intelligence leaks.
That allegedly entailed covert support for or participation in the 2019 and 2021 election campaigns of specific candidates.
China has vehemently denied the accusations, labeling them “defamatory.”
According to Trudeau, the new rapporteur, who will be named in the upcoming days, will be in charge of providing “expert advice on combating interference and strengthening our democracy,” and he also added that he had appointed two committees to look into foreign interference.
Following days of demands for an impartial public inquiry into the matter from opposition groups, this announcement was made. The government will need advice from the special rapporteur on the best course of action, which may include holding a public investigation, as one of his or her first duties.
The recommendations of the rapporteur, according to Trudeau, “could include a formal inquiry or some other independent review procedure,” will be followed by his administration.
The prime minister also gave members of the parliamentary committee on national security and intelligence instructions to start a fresh, focused probe into foreign meddling in Canada’s elections.
A report on the topic from the committee that was released in 2019 urged the government to take additional action.
Meanwhile, it has been requested that the body in charge of Canada’s intelligence services look into how the country’s national security organizations have responded to the threat of electoral meddling.
Trudeau noted that “any attempt at interference by a foreign actor is disturbing and grave,” adding that “the Chinese government and other regimes, such as Iran and Russia, have attempted to interfere not only in our democracy, but also in our nation as a whole.”
He continued, “This is not a brand-new issue.
