Tory MP Calls on Trudeau to Identify Liberal Who Allegedly Warned Han Dong About CSIS Surveillance

Conservative MP Michael Cooper rises during Question Period in Ottawa on Nov. 22, 2022. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

A Conservative MP is calling on the Liberal government to identify the party member who reportedly warned Han Dong he was under surveillance by Canada’s intelligence agency.

Tory MP Michael Cooper is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to respond after a Globe and Mail article, citing an anonymous senior national-security official, indicated Mr. Dong was warned the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was keeping tabs on him.

The warning reportedly came after the intelligence service informed the Liberal Party in September 2019 that the Chinese regime was allegedly interfering in the nomination contest for the riding of Don Valley North.

“The Globe reports that a senior Liberal broke the law and undermined national security by leaking highly-classified information to warn Han Dong that he was being monitored by CSIS,” Conservative MP Michael Cooper said on platform X. “Justin Trudeau must come clean and tell Canadians who that top Liberal is.”

Mr. Dong has not responded to inquiries from The Epoch Times.

Liberal Party director Azam Ishmael, who had been provided the CSIS briefing, told the Globe that “at no point have I spoken about classified information with people that did not have the security clearance to receive the information.”

A CSIS intelligence summary released to the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference says that “irregularities in the nomination that may have included activities undertaken by individuals close to PRC [People’s Republic of China] Officials.”

The summary says that international Chinese students were bussed in to vote for Mr. Dong, while some students were given fake documents to vote because they were not residents of the riding.

CSIS also says the Chinese consulate issued “veiled threats” to the students that if they didn’t vote for Mr. Dong they could lose their student visas or “there could be consequences for their families back in the PRC.”

Mr. Trudeau was informed about the irregularities by his adviser following CSIS briefing the Liberal Party, but he chose to move ahead with Mr. Dong, who went on to win the seat in the House of Commons in 2019. Mr. Dong resigned from the Liberal Party in March 2023 to sit as an Independent MP following several articles from Global News.

The news outlet published articles drawn from national security leaks accusing Mr. Dong of giving advice to the Chinese consul general in Toronto about the detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Mr. Dong has denied the allegations against him and sued Global News for defamation. He has indicated he wishes to rejoin the Liberal Party.

While testifying during the inquiry, Mr. Dong was asked if he believed there was Chinese interference in Canadian elections, to which he responded, “I see reports about that. I presently don’t see any evidence.”

Janice Charette, former clerk of the Privy Council and member of the 2021 Critical Election Incident Public Protocol panel, told the inquiry the issues surrounding the Don Valley North nomination wasn’t believed to meet the threshold to inform the Canadian public.

Nathalie Drouin, the prime minister’s top security adviser, concurred, saying the CSIS briefing for the Liberals was thought to be sufficient to mitigate the risk.

Commissioner of Canada Elections Caroline Simard told the inquiry on March 28 that she is investigating the Don Valley North nomination contest.