A federal inquiry into foreign interference is set to hear from the Independent MP at the centre of allegations about foreign meddling in Canadian elections.
Han Dong left the Liberal caucus after it was alleged he willingly participated in Chinese interference efforts and won his seat with Beijing’s help in 2019 — claims he denies.
Special rapporteur David Johnston found last May that there were “irregularities” observed with Dong’s 2019 nomination and “well-grounded suspicion” that these were tied to China’s Toronto consulate, but that Dong was not aware of these issues.
Dong is slated to testify this afternoon, as is former Ontario cabinet minister Michael Chan, who is now the deputy mayor of Markham, Ont.
Chan is suing the CSIS and others over allegations the spy agency surveilled him and had concerns about improper activities with Chinese officials.
This morning, campaign directors for the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP will testify on a panel.
The inquiry will hear from Walied Soliman, the Conservative campaign co-chair in the 2021 election, as well as Azam Ishmael, who ran the Liberal campaign that year, and the NDP’s national director Anne McGrath.
This afternoon, the inquiry is set to hear from Chan, followed by Dong’s former chief of staff Ted Lojko and then Dong himself.
The hearings are part of the inquiry’s work examining possible foreign interference by China, India, Russia and others in the last two general elections.
‘Our concerns were never taken seriously’
Soliman was the Conservative representative on the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force during the 2021 race, and he has said that the party had never been notified of any threats to the electoral process.
“Our party was seeing clear signs of tampering in ridings with substantial Chinese diasporas,” he wrote on social media in February 2023. “Our concerns were never taken seriously.”
Former national security adviser Jody Thomas testified that the government provided a response to Soliman’s concerns, and nothing was found to suggest that “the ridings that he was concerned about were affected by attempts at foreign interference.”
The commission of inquiry, led by Quebec judge Marie-Josee Hogue, expects to hear testimony from more than 40 people, including community members, political party representatives and federal election officials.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, members of his cabinet and various senior government officials are also slated to appear at the hearings, which are set to conclude April 10.
An initial report of findings from the commission is due May 3.
The inquiry will then shift to broader policy issues, looking at the government’s ability to detect, deter and counter foreign interference. A final report is expected by the end of the year.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
