Two B.C.-based watchdog groups say Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue’s final report on foreign interference fails to deliver real solutions, calling for a tougher foreign agent registry and stricter media regulations to curb Beijing’s influence in Canada.
While noting Hogue found no evidence of “traitors” in Parliament, the two groups say the commissioner nevertheless acknowledged the intelligence and evidence pointing to acts of foreign interference and transnational repression on the part of Chinese officials working out of Vancouver’s consulate.
“At the time of writing this report, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the most active perpetrator of foreign interference targeting Canada’s democratic institutions,” concluded Hogue.
“The evidence presented to the Commission during its public hearings suggests some foreign interference (and transnational repression) undertaken by foreign diplomatic personnel is carried out through consulates. This evidence implicated consulates in Toronto and Vancouver in particular.”
But some of Hogue’s conclusions and recommendations come up short, the Chinese-Canadian watchdog groups say.
On behalf of the Chinese Canadian Concern Group on CCP’s Human Rights Violations, Gabriel Yiu issued a statement calling for tighter regulations and transparent reporting by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for media outlets, particularly those connected to the PRC.
“A major disappointment is the lack of action regarding Chinese-language media in Canada. While the report acknowledges that these outlets are largely controlled by the CCP, it fails to recommend any regulatory response through the CRTC. This is a missed opportunity,” said Yiu, whose group was an intervenor to the commission.
Hogue noted in her report that CRTC is limited in its power, not being able to immediately halt broadcasting or regulate it over the internet. She makes no mention of the CRTC in her recommendations.
Next, on behalf of Canadian Friends of Hong Kong, Ivy Li said Hogue’s recommendations lack a stated need for a more robust Foreign Influence Transparency Registry than currently proposed.
The registry as proposed in legislation, said Li, needs to go beyond the lobbying of federal politicians.
The registry should cover all levels of government and bureaucrats, including Crown corporations and agencies, and even political parties and advertising activities.
Further, said Li, it should also be strengthened by granting the proposed registry commissioner “total transparency and independence,” since the current legislation gives the prime minister and the cabinet discretion on disclosure.
Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu, whose allegations of foreign interference by PRC officials against his 2021 campaign in Steveston-Richmond East figured prominently in the final report, said as much.
“The OCCE [the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections] was tasked to investigate. There was information and evidence of foreign interference but none of them had broken any law because the bar of the law is so high, and the evidentiary requirement is so high, they’re not illegal,” Chiu told BIV.
“What does that mean? It means our law needs to change. It needs to tighten up and reflect the 21st century world we live in,” he said.
Chiu said he was “not surprised” by the lack of determinations made by Hogue of specific alleged events.
“It’s nothing surprising given her mandate and limited resources, namely time and most importantly the limited scope she was to look at. I’m not surprised she came to those conclusions,” said Chiu.
“What about someone who isn’t a traitor but is just willing to work with a foreign country and has their interest in mind in trying to find this proverbial ‘win-win’ situation?” asked Chiu, who was not re-elected in 2021 after advocating for a foreign agent registry.
Hogue stated “there are a very small number of isolated cases where foreign interference may have had some impact on the outcome of a nomination contest or the result of an election in a given riding” however she said she felt reassured these instances had minimal impact.
One of the examined cases was Chiu’s campaign, whose chief competitor, Liberal Parm Bains, garnered support from members of the United Front Work Department.
OCCE investigators, wrote Hogue, found “impetus and direction was given by PRC officials for the anti-Conservative Party campaign through a range of public statements made by diplomatic and consular officials. They found that ‘the overall campaign was carried out and amplified via a multi-pronged and layered approach using Chinese Canadian association individuals, Chinese Canadian business interests, as well as pervasive social media and printed, digital and broadcast media messaging.’”
Hogue’s mandate was the electoral process at the federal level and not an examination of foreign activity within civic institutions and toward grassroots organizations.
Yiu said his group was pleased to at least have transnational regression tactics acknowledged.
“The report also confirms that PRC foreign interference extends beyond politics—it directly targets and intimidates Chinese Canadian communities,” said Yiu.
Hogue’s report notes: “The PRC uses its diplomatic missions, PRC international students, community organizations, and private individuals to carry out transnational repression.”
Yiu was critical of Hogue for not making determinations nor identifying individuals.
“As a result, the public can only make their own judgments after reading the report,” said Yiu.
For Li and her group, the Hogue report also pulled punches.
“By bragging how our democratic institutions have remained ‘robust’ and downplaying the foreign interference as ‘isolated cases’ that ‘may have some impact’, Justice Hogue and her team stand in sharp contrast with the Canadian general public in that we think even one such case is too many for a democracy like ours.
“The biggest Canadian concern expressed so far has always been about the interference into our democratic institutions and processes, not the legislative or electoral results.
“Their wilful blindness to this issue and to address the public concern is mind-blowing.”
Chiu added that whatever response is made, the reality is that the regimes will likely be mindful not to cook up the same playbook.
"They're facing a different situation. But they will find other ways and means to advance their interests at the expense of Canada. Whether they do it through a different organization, different means, above table, below table; I don’t have their resources to find out but for sure they will do that," he said.
