OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — Conservative Party of Canada MP Michael Chong, who was recently named for being the target of spying and intimidation tactics by agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as per a top-secret report, lamented the fact that he was never told by Canadian intelligence officials or the current federal government that he was being secretly spied on.
On Monday, Chong said that he was astounded the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) never made it known that a Chinese diplomat was targeting his relatives.
“Yeah, CSIS had provided me briefings on foreign interference activities, particularly from the People’s Republic of China. But they never, ever informed me that the Ministry of State Security of the PRC had tasked a senior diplomat out of the consulate in Toronto with targeting my family in Hong Kong,” Chong said in an interview with the online news site The Hub.
“My father was a Chinese immigrant from Hong Kong to Canada and I have family in Hong Kong.”
Chong added that his situation is “not unique” and that like many Canadians who have relatives overseas, “the People’s Republic of China and other authoritarian states have used that fact to intimidate and coerce Canadians at home by threatening their family abroad.”
Yesterday, LifeSiteNews reported on a highly confidential document from Canada’s top intelligence agency that warned the CCP thinks of Canada as a “high-priority target.” The same report also said the CCP is the “foremost perpetrator” of foreign interference in the nation, and then noted how the regime has targeted Chong’s family.
The bombshell revelations come via a top-secret, nine-page report from the Intelligence Assessment Branch of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), as reported by the Globe and Mail on Monday. The newspaper was privy to the documents via an anonymous source that were produced just before the start of the 2021 federal election.
It’s ‘astounding’ the government never ‘informed me’ of what was going on, says Chong
The top-secret report shows that an officer from the CCP’s own intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), was looking for information on Chong’s relatives, “who may be located in the PRC, for further potential sanctions.”
According to the report, this action against Chong “is almost certainly meant to make an example of this MP and deter others from taking anti-PRC positions.”
Chong said about the spying incident on his family that it is “astounding,” and at a “minimum” he would have “expected my government had a duty of care to inform me that my family was being targeted.”
He then went on to say that CSIS never told him or “ever informed me” of what he said he suspected was going on.
“It is astounding that months, years after this information has come to light the government still hasn’t taken any action to shut these kind of threat activities down, particularly threat activities that are taking place on Canadian soil,” Chong said.
Chong noted how the only conclusion to being left in the dark he can come up with is that “there are political calculations at play here and I think that’s appalling.”
“I think it suggests the Trudeau government will not protect Canadians of differing political viewpoints from threat activities of authoritarian states. That has got to stop,” he added.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that he would look into the matter regarding Chong.
Today, after calls from Chong and the Conservative Party to come clean about what he knew, Trudeau shifted the blame for Chong being in the dark by saying CSIS is responsible for notifying MPs when they are spied on. He also claimed he did not know about the spying incident.
The potential interference by foreign agents has many Canadians concerned, especially considering Trudeau’s past praise for China’s “basic dictatorship” and his labeling of the dictatorial nation as his favorite country other than his own.
On Twitter today, former Canadian ambassador to China David Mulroney said the whole CCP spying scandal shows how Canadians can’t trust the government to keep them safe.
“It has become even clearer in the last 24 hours that members of Parliament, certainly opposition members, and Canadians at large, cannot rely upon the government of Canada … to discharge its role as a defender of the realm,” Mulroney tweeted.
Mulroney added that as Chong pointed out, “all Canadians should now be worried whether the government will advise them of threats against them from the Chinese state.”
Overall, the report intended to serve as a “baseline for understanding the intent, motives and scope” of the CCP’s meddling in Canadian politics.
The shocking revelations show that China uses a vast network to target politicians and business leaders using “incentives and punishments” to influence them.
The CSIS report, dated July 20, 2021, shows that the CCP’s own intelligence agency, Ministry of State Security (MSS), “has taken specific actions to target Canadian MPs” who in February 2021 voted for a motion that condemned China’s oppression of Uyghurs and other minorities, calling them an act of genocide.
This motion saw Trudeau and his cabinet abstain from voting, which had the House of Commons voting in a unanimous declaration that the CCP has been committing acts of genocide against the Uighurs in Xinjiang province.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre blasts Trudeau government over spying scandal
On Tuesday during a debate in the House of Commons, CPC leader Pierre Poilievre ripped into Trudeau, asking him why he did not expel the “diplomat” who was targeting Chong.
“The government knew that an agent from Beijing had organized to threaten the family of a member of Canada’s Parliament because of a vote in the House of Commons. The government knew this,” Poilievre said.
“They (Trudeau Liberals) allowed them to continue to threaten the family of the member and other Canadians of Chinese origin and why did the prime minister not act?”
In reply, Trudeau said Poilievre’s words were “simply false.”
“And it’s irresponsible to suggest that our government would have sat on information like that,” he added.
Poilievre then demanded to know why the Trudeau government seemingly chose to not share any information with Chong.
“Two years ago, in July 2021, the government had a CSIS document showing that an agent for the dictatorship in Beijing was arranging to sanction and punish the family of a Canadian MP because of how he voted on the floor of the House of Commons and yet for two years, his prime minister’s government accredited the agent with diplomatic immunity, allowing him to abuse countless other Canadians of Chinese origin,” Poilievre said.
Trudeau ignored Poilievre and did not reply.
Poilievre then pressed Trudeau more, saying that he could have taken away diplomatic immunity of the spy “anytime he wants,” adding, “Why is he keeping this agent in our country threatening our people?”
Trudeau again said nothing.
Opposition parties, notably the CPC, have been for weeks demanding that Trudeau launch a full, independent public inquiry over the China election meddling scandal.
Instead of a full public inquiry, as MPs from all opposition parties had requested, Trudeau appointed an “independent special rapporteur” to look into the allegations.
Earlier this month, the entire board of directors, including the president and CEO, of the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation resigned after a report surfaced last month detailing how the non-profit group received a $200,000 donation that was alleged to be connected to the CCP.
Of note is that Johnston is a family friend of Trudeau and at the time of being appointed “special rapporteur” was listed prominently on the embattled foundation’s website.
Johnston’s name has since been taken down from the website.