A expert in intelligence assessment told the public inquiry committee into foreign interference in Canadian affairs yesterday that China’s interference in Canada "cannot be viewed solely through the electoral processes."

Martin Green, who worked for the Privy Council Office (PCO / BCP) that advises the Prime Minister and ministers, noted that a special report prepared in January 2022 for the intelligence assessment secretariat in that office concluded that this interference manifests itself in many areas of society through "hybrid tools" developed by Beijing.

Green stated that he briefed former National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, David Morrison, on the report’s findings, and then passed the report to Morrison’s successor, Jody Thomas. Therefore, Green finds it difficult to explain why this information was not sent to the Prime Minister.

Summaries of Leaked Documents

The inquiry committee announced yesterday that it had obtained unprecedented access to cabinet documents after negotiations with the government.

The committee stated in a press release that the government agreed to release summaries of four documents, which are generally considered confidential, that will be presented as evidence during the current hearings.

These texts were previously submitted to David Johnston, who investigated foreign interference last year in his capacity as the government’s special rapporteur.

“The exceptional degree to which the committee has access to confidential information and cabinet secrets (...) reflects the importance of the inquiry’s work,” said the chair of the inquiry, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue.

It is noted that in her preliminary report published on May 3, Justice Hogue found that while foreign interference may have occurred in a few electoral districts during the last two federal election campaigns in 2019 and 2021, such interference did not affect the overall election results.

The limited interventions did not undermine the integrity of the electoral system itself nor did they affect the identity of the party that took power, as stated in the report.