A human rights group involved in the public inquiry into foreign interference says the commissioner’s proposed security measures have not eased its concerns about several politicians accused of links to the Chinese regime having the right to question witnesses.
“I don’t want to be questioned or examined by those people who are allegedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party [CCP],” Mehmet Tohti, executive director of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP), told The Epoch Times on Jan. 30.
“That is a principled stand. It is not about my safety and security.”
Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue in December 2023 granted two politicians the right to question witnesses during the inquiry as well as access non-public information from the inquiry.
They are Han Dong, a former Liberal MP now sitting as an Independent for Toronto’s Don Valley North riding, and Michael Chan, a former Ontario cabinet minister now serving as deputy mayor of Markham, a city in the Greater Toronto Area. Both are subjects of allegations related to Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Both have denied any inappropriate ties to the Chinese regime and its consulate in Canada.
Additionally, Justice Hogue granted Sen. Yuen Pau Woo the right to make oral or written submissions and access exhibits entered into evidence during the inquiry. Mr. Woo, who has
sparked concerns among the Chinese diaspora for remarks and actions deemed favourable to Beijing, has also rejected the allegations against him.
“The fact that Human Rights groups can assert publicly that I have links to the CCP without any evidence underscores the risk that foreign interference claims can lead to a witch hunt and exposes the fundamentally illiberal and censorious attitudes of these groups,” he said in an email statement to The Epoch Times on Jan. 30.
Mr. Woo confirmed to The Epoch Times in May 2023 that he had assisted in
drafting a citizen petition against creation of a foreign agent registry in Canada. The
petition opened for signature in April 2023 and closed three months later in July. It was initiated despite public calls for establishing the registry to enhance transparency related to activities of individuals in the country working on behalf of foreign entities.
The senator also led a
demonstration on Parliament Hill last June which, while advertised as an event opposing anti-Chinese racism, at the same time
encouraged members of Chinese-Canadian communities to reject the foreign registry.
Withdrawal
URAP is one of five out of a coalition of eight rights groups representing ethnic and religious communities targeted by the CCP that had
earlier urged Justice Hogue to reconsider her decision to include these three politicians. They asked that their participation be limited to the scope of the allegations against them and that they be restricted in their ability to question witnesses.
However, in a
Dec. 22, 2023 decision, Justice Hogue stuck to her decision even thought she acknowledged the groups’ claim that certain individuals expressed “concerns about being questioned by Mr. Dong and Mr. Chan.”
A day before the inquiry commenced, Mr. Tohti in an interview with The
Globe and Mail expressed pessimism about the inquiry and indicated the groups’ potential withdrawal.
“Canada must address the persistent hostile interference and potential threats to our democracy with a greater sense of urgency. Business as usual is not an option anymore,” he wrote on the
social media platform X on Jan. 28.
On Jan. 29, the inquiry’s opening day, Justice Hogue mentioned the possibility of introducing measures to protect individuals worried about politicians with alleged CCP ties questioning them and accessing their information.
“It is also possible that certain persons called upon to testify before the commission, who fear for their safety or the safety of members of their family, request that their identity be protected or certain information provided be kept confidential. Such requests may lead to the need for in-camera hearings,” she said.
Despite the commissioner’s comment, Mr. Tohti expressed ongoing concerns, stating, “I don’t see that [the commissioner’s] comment is just to address my request.” URAP will decide on Jan. 31 whether to proceed with its commitment to withdraw from the inquiry, depending on the commissioner adjusting her decision, he said.
Foreign Interference
Launched last September, the public inquiry aims to probe foreign interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections. It followed extensive reports about the CCP’s alleged meddling in Canadian elections and other espionage and interference activities.Mr. Dong resigned from the Liberal caucus to sit as an Independent MP in March 2023 after a
Global News report, citing anonymous national security sources, accused him of inappropriate ties to the Chinese consulate in Toronto.
The report said that in February 2021, Mr. Dong allegedly advised Han Tao, then-Chinese consul general in Toronto, that Beijing should delay releasing Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who had been arbitrarily imprisoned in China for over two years by the time. Mr. Dong rejected the allegations and started
legal proceedings against Global News in April.
Mr. Chan is also facing
allegations of engaging in improper activities related to the 2019 and 2021 general elections. Citing national security sources,
The Globe and Mail reported in February 2023 that Canadian intelligence personnel had warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and senior aides in 2021 about Mr. Chan’s alleged association with
Zhao Wei, a Chinese envoy who had previously worked at the Chinese Consulate in Toronto.
Mr. Zhao was subsequently
expelled, in May 2023, over allegations that he was involved in attempts to intimidate Conservative MP
Michael Chong for criticizing Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China. Mr. Chan has denied any ties to the Chinese official.
Mr. Dong and Mr. Chan didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment from The Epoch Times.
