
Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue delivers opening remarks at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, in Ottawa on Jan. 30, 2024. (Screen shot)
The Foreign Interference Commission says it received repeated calls from Canadians during its public consultations to release the names of parliamentarians allegedly involved in foreign interference.
The report cited concerns from respondents that politicians may “downplay” CSIS intelligence when it relates to politicians. Respondents also called for the “investigation, public identification, and punishment of compromised actors within Canada’s politicians.”
“Canada should investigate elected and appointed government officials and public servants who may be passively or actively engaged in foreign interference,” the commission wrote in summarizing the concerns it received.
Targeted Communities
The commission’s public consultations received more than 200 written submissions and 624 questionnaire responses. Additionally, the commission reported holding consultation meetings with 105 individual members of diaspora communities. A number of communities highlighted in the report as being frequent targets of Chinese interference include Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and immigrants from Hong Kong.