Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, upon finally reading the intelligence report on Beijing’s interference in Canadian elections, Targetting Paper, concluded there’s no need for concern. Testifying at the Commission on Foreign Interference Wednesday morning, commission lawyers questioned Trudeau on how information flowed to him from agencies such as the Canadian Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). The prime minister told the commission the report, which was compiled by CSIS in 2021 and published in 2023, was not earlier shared with him by his national security and intelligence advisor, Jody Thomas. He had, however, had a chance to read it since he had testified at the China Inquiry in the spring. PCR (People’s Republic of China) Targetting Paper demonstrated how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) analyzed Canadian parliamentarians and grouped them into three categories according to their sympathy to Beijing, testified Trudeau. “Some as being positive towards China,” “others who are neutral or convincible to be more positive towards China” and “others who have demonstrated themselves to be more antagonist to the CCP” but “speaking out strongly” on issues China “doesn’t like to be discuss publicly or criticize them on,” like the Uyghurs issue, or human rights in Hong Kong.That is “not in itself particularly revelatory to me, or new information to me,” he said, adding that’s how diplomacy works around the world, including in Canada’s relation to the US in negotiating NAFTA agreements, said Trudeau as an example. “I will say that, having read the Targetting Paper in detail now, there are some interesting factoids, or tidbits, in there that I said, ‘oh okay that’s interesting.’”“None of them significantly altered at all my perception of China’s behaviour, China’s engagement, influence, and in some case, interference, in Canada to any significant degree.”Trudeau said he counts on his national security adviser to determine whether various reports are “ready” to go to the prime minister, and as this particular report was not in its “final form” there “wasn’t a decision to pass it along” to him. "I have faith, having looked at the paper, that it was indeed the right decision by the national security intelligence advisor — that it wasn’t a document that significantly added in a relevant way to my understanding of the situation."Commission counsel Shantona Chaudhury pointed out Thomas had earlier testified she had never seen the final version, so she in fact did not make the decision that it should not go up to the prime minister, as he had testified a moment ago. “There we go,” said Trudeau, dramatically lifting his hands and smiling back at her in agreement. Contents of the paper, which explicitly names foreign spies, have not been disclosed to the public due to Trudeau’s Attorney General, who refused to release it to the commission, The Bureau reported. Trudeau was further questioned on the Privy Council Office (PCO) January 2022 Special Report, which is based on more than 100 CSIS reports and details a complex foreign interference network that infiltrated 11 Toronto candidates in the 2019 federal election. These interference operations included illicit fund transfers from the Toronto Chinese Consulate into proxy networks. CSIS in March 2021 requested a technical surveillance warrant, which sat on the public safety minister’s desk for 54 days. Still, the report was classified as highly sensitive and is one of the key documents pertaining to the commission’s investigation. Commission counsel also highlighted three memos on foreign interference threats, all of which were intended for the prime minister between 2019 and 2022, but Trudeau said he never received them. The memos included unclassified briefings for parliamentarians, which he was required to authorize. Authorization was not given until June 2024, when parliamentarians were finally briefed for the first time. "These decision points didn’t get to me," said Trudeau. "But I made it very clear throughout conversations that I would have approved of, and encouraged, briefings.""Nobody flagged this was something of importance that was stalled, and therefore, as you pointed out, they weren’t acted on in my office.”“Do you have any idea why no reply was given to all of those seeking authorization?” Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue asked.“In the third case, it actually didn’t get to my office,” said Trudeau. He did not explain why the second memo didn’t get to him, which the commission earlier heard was discussed within the PMO, and said the first one fell through the cracks of the pandemic.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, upon finally reading the intelligence report on Beijing’s interference in Canadian elections, Targetting Paper, concluded there’s no need for concern. Testifying at the Commission on Foreign Interference Wednesday morning, commission lawyers questioned Trudeau on how information flowed to him from agencies such as the Canadian Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). The prime minister told the commission the report, which was compiled by CSIS in 2021 and published in 2023, was not earlier shared with him by his national security and intelligence advisor, Jody Thomas. He had, however, had a chance to read it since he had testified at the China Inquiry in the spring. PCR (People’s Republic of China) Targetting Paper demonstrated how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) analyzed Canadian parliamentarians and grouped them into three categories according to their sympathy to Beijing, testified Trudeau. “Some as being positive towards China,” “others who are neutral or convincible to be more positive towards China” and “others who have demonstrated themselves to be more antagonist to the CCP” but “speaking out strongly” on issues China “doesn’t like to be discuss publicly or criticize them on,” like the Uyghurs issue, or human rights in Hong Kong.That is “not in itself particularly revelatory to me, or new information to me,” he said, adding that’s how diplomacy works around the world, including in Canada’s relation to the US in negotiating NAFTA agreements, said Trudeau as an example. “I will say that, having read the Targetting Paper in detail now, there are some interesting factoids, or tidbits, in there that I said, ‘oh okay that’s interesting.’”“None of them significantly altered at all my perception of China’s behaviour, China’s engagement, influence, and in some case, interference, in Canada to any significant degree.”Trudeau said he counts on his national security adviser to determine whether various reports are “ready” to go to the prime minister, and as this particular report was not in its “final form” there “wasn’t a decision to pass it along” to him. "I have faith, having looked at the paper, that it was indeed the right decision by the national security intelligence advisor — that it wasn’t a document that significantly added in a relevant way to my understanding of the situation."Commission counsel Shantona Chaudhury pointed out Thomas had earlier testified she had never seen the final version, so she in fact did not make the decision that it should not go up to the prime minister, as he had testified a moment ago. “There we go,” said Trudeau, dramatically lifting his hands and smiling back at her in agreement. Contents of the paper, which explicitly names foreign spies, have not been disclosed to the public due to Trudeau’s Attorney General, who refused to release it to the commission, The Bureau reported. Trudeau was further questioned on the Privy Council Office (PCO) January 2022 Special Report, which is based on more than 100 CSIS reports and details a complex foreign interference network that infiltrated 11 Toronto candidates in the 2019 federal election. These interference operations included illicit fund transfers from the Toronto Chinese Consulate into proxy networks. CSIS in March 2021 requested a technical surveillance warrant, which sat on the public safety minister’s desk for 54 days. Still, the report was classified as highly sensitive and is one of the key documents pertaining to the commission’s investigation. Commission counsel also highlighted three memos on foreign interference threats, all of which were intended for the prime minister between 2019 and 2022, but Trudeau said he never received them. The memos included unclassified briefings for parliamentarians, which he was required to authorize. Authorization was not given until June 2024, when parliamentarians were finally briefed for the first time. "These decision points didn’t get to me," said Trudeau. "But I made it very clear throughout conversations that I would have approved of, and encouraged, briefings.""Nobody flagged this was something of importance that was stalled, and therefore, as you pointed out, they weren’t acted on in my office.”“Do you have any idea why no reply was given to all of those seeking authorization?” Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue asked.“In the third case, it actually didn’t get to my office,” said Trudeau. He did not explain why the second memo didn’t get to him, which the commission earlier heard was discussed within the PMO, and said the first one fell through the cracks of the pandemic.
