Conservative MP Michael Chong has been granted the right to question witnesses and access classified documents in the public inquiry into foreign interference. The inquiry, slated to begin early next year, was initiated in response to widespread allegations of Beijing’s election meddling in Canada.
Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, the head of the inquiry,
announced this decision to grant Mr. Chong full standing, or “full participation rights,” on Dec. 14.
She highlighted Mr. Chong’s claims that he has been the target of multiple disinformation campaigns and other forms of interference launched by the Chinese regime. The Chinese operations, spanning from 2020 to as recently as May 2023, reportedly aimed to discredit Mr. Chong.
“The detailed allegations contained in Mr. Chong’s application persuade me that he has an important direct and substantial interest in the Commission’s work,” Ms. Hogue stated in her decision. “In addition, Mr. Chong’s participation will undoubtedly contribute to the thoroughness of the Inquiry.”
In his testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs on May 16, Mr. Chong said he has received multiple personal threats in recent years believed to have come from China.
This revelation follows a
May 1 report in The Globe and Mail that referenced a 2021 Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) intelligence assessment detailing interference activities being carried out in Canada by the Chinese communist regime.
CSIS reportedly said China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) took “specific actions to target Canadian MPs” linked to a 2021 House of Commons
motion aimed at recognizing that Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur minority constitutes a genocide, according to The Globe. An MSS officer allegedly sought information on an unnamed Canadian MP’s relatives “who may be located in the PRC [People’s Republic of China], for further potential sanctions.”
The Globe also reported that an unnamed national security source identified the MP as Michael Chong.
Mr. Chong voiced concerns about the
“systemic failure” that led to him learning about threats against his family from the media nearly two years after CSIS began tracking those threats.
Referring to Mr. Chong’s concerns, Justice Hogue stated: “Without making any comment about whether this criticism is or is not fair, in my view Mr. Chong has a personal and direct interest in any conclusions I may eventually arrive at with respect to the adequacy of the Government’s actions related to him.”
Application for Individual Standing
Mr. Chong did not initially seek standing as an individual in the foreign interference inquiry.When Ms. Hogue first
released her
decision on applications for standing on
Dec. 4, she acknowledged the Opposition Conservatives’ assertion that Conservative candidates “were among the most targeted by the Chinese government” in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. The Tories also said that Mr. Chong, a likely target of the Chinese operation, “will play a leading role in instructing” the Conservatives’ participation in the inquiry.
Ms. Hogue granted Mr. Chong five days to submit an application for standing as an individual independent of the Conservative Party following release of her Dec. 4 decision. Mr. Chong subsequently filed an application seeking full standing in the inquiry, which would entitle him to “full participation rights, including the right to access certain non-public documents and to question witnesses.”
The justice upheld her previous decision to grant intervener standing to the Conservatives and the NDP at the inquiry. This limits their participation to being able to make submissions and have access to exhibits entered into evidence during the public hearings. However, they cannot question witnesses or access “non-public documents.”
The federal government under the Liberals was granted full standing rights.
The public inquiry will
unfold in two phases: the first commencing in early 2024 and the second in the fall. An initial report is due by Feb. 29, 2024, with the final report expected by Dec. 31, 2024.
Peter Wilson and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
