The China Inquiry heard Monday the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was informed federal officials accepted large cash contributions from Chinese agents in breach of the Elections Act.Repeated warnings of at least $250,000 in illegal political donations were known to cabinet-appointed election monitors but never made public, an internal memo dated October 26, 2022 and classified 'top secret shows, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.“Co-opted community leaders and associates provided assistance in fundraising,” it said. “This activity is often covert, likely illegal and therefore constitutes foreign interference by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).”A subsequent 2023 document entitled Briefing To The Prime Minister’s Office On Foreign Interference Threats warned, without naming names, there were “at least 11 candidates and 13 staff members implicated in People’s Republic of China (PRC) networks.” .Federal election monitors in the 2019 and 2021 campaigns never issued any public warning based on internal security memos.“The fact that it is possible there was interference wasn’t enough,” François Daigle, former deputy justice minister, testified at the foreign interference commission. “We were looking for something more. We were not a court.”Gib van Ert, counsel for Conservative MP Michael Chong, challenged the remark. “But you are a lawyer, sir, and presumably you were there to advise on legal issues?” he asked. “I was there as deputy minister of justice,” replied Daigle. “I didn’t, during the panel, give any legal advice.”“We were ready to make a public announcement if we saw information that told us something needed to be corrected. We were prepared to do that. But we simply didn’t see enough information.”Counsel Van Ert disagreed, saying evidence showed election monitors would “never make an announcement around PRC interference in the course of an election” regardless of evidence detailed in secret security memos.The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in one report documented cash payments by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to Canadian friends of China. Sums ran to six figures, said the report, People’s Republic Of China: Threat Actors, Contact With Candidates And Funding Of Threat Actors.“There likely were at least two transfers of funds approximating $250,000 from PRC officials in Canada possibly for foreign influence-related purposes,” said the report. “These were transferred via multiple individuals to obfuscate their origins via an influential community leader, to the staff member of a 2019 federal election candidate and then to an Ontario MPP. The transfers reportedly took place in late 2018, early 2019.”
The China Inquiry heard Monday the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was informed federal officials accepted large cash contributions from Chinese agents in breach of the Elections Act.Repeated warnings of at least $250,000 in illegal political donations were known to cabinet-appointed election monitors but never made public, an internal memo dated October 26, 2022 and classified 'top secret shows, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.“Co-opted community leaders and associates provided assistance in fundraising,” it said. “This activity is often covert, likely illegal and therefore constitutes foreign interference by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).”A subsequent 2023 document entitled Briefing To The Prime Minister’s Office On Foreign Interference Threats warned, without naming names, there were “at least 11 candidates and 13 staff members implicated in People’s Republic of China (PRC) networks.” .Federal election monitors in the 2019 and 2021 campaigns never issued any public warning based on internal security memos.“The fact that it is possible there was interference wasn’t enough,” François Daigle, former deputy justice minister, testified at the foreign interference commission. “We were looking for something more. We were not a court.”Gib van Ert, counsel for Conservative MP Michael Chong, challenged the remark. “But you are a lawyer, sir, and presumably you were there to advise on legal issues?” he asked. “I was there as deputy minister of justice,” replied Daigle. “I didn’t, during the panel, give any legal advice.”“We were ready to make a public announcement if we saw information that told us something needed to be corrected. We were prepared to do that. But we simply didn’t see enough information.”Counsel Van Ert disagreed, saying evidence showed election monitors would “never make an announcement around PRC interference in the course of an election” regardless of evidence detailed in secret security memos.The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in one report documented cash payments by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to Canadian friends of China. Sums ran to six figures, said the report, People’s Republic Of China: Threat Actors, Contact With Candidates And Funding Of Threat Actors.“There likely were at least two transfers of funds approximating $250,000 from PRC officials in Canada possibly for foreign influence-related purposes,” said the report. “These were transferred via multiple individuals to obfuscate their origins via an influential community leader, to the staff member of a 2019 federal election candidate and then to an Ontario MPP. The transfers reportedly took place in late 2018, early 2019.”
