Trudeau’s Chief of Staff Telford Set to Testify on Foreign Interference

Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister Katie Telford arrives to appear as a witness at the Public Order Emergency Commission in Ottawa on Nov 24, 2022. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Opposition MPs from all major parties battled hard to get some face time with Katie Telford, chief of staff to the prime minister. As a result, Telford is expected to appear before a House of Commons committee on April 14 to testify on issues related to interference by the Chinese regime in Canada’s democracy.

Liberal MPs on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) engaged in the fourth-longest committee filibuster of the last decade to avoid voting on a motion calling Telford to testify.

The filibuster ended on March 21 when the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) lifted its opposition to her appearance at committee and the motion was adopted.

The next day, Global News ran a story alleging that Liberal MP Han Dong had advised a Chinese diplomat in 2021 to hold off on releasing detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. The two men had been in Chinese custody for over two years by that time, in a case widely seen as retribution for Canada’s detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition request.

Global reported that the PMO said it “only became aware that a conversation took place after Mr. Dong told us, following recent media questions.”

Dong resigned from the Liberal Party the same day, and on March 31 his lawyer announced Dong intends to file libel action against Global, calling the article “false, malicious, irresponsible, and defamatory.”

The Dong case is one of the issues Telford could be asked about, since previous Global News reporting alleged that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s team had been warned about him.

The warning reportedly came in September 2019 as Dong was about to become the Liberal Party candidate in the Don Valley North riding of Toronto.

In a Feb. 25 article, Global reported that “CSIS [Canadian Security Intelligence Service] urged Trudeau’s team to rescind Dong’s candidacy,” saying, “Sources say the service also believes Dong is a witting affiliate in China’s election interference networks.”

The alleged warning was reportedly ignored, and Dong, formerly an Ontario MPP, went on to become a federal MP.

Trudeau reacted to the article by saying that “It is not up to unelected security officials to dictate to political parties who can or cannot run,” Global reported on Feb. 27.

Based on her position and role, Telford could have been made aware of the CSIS information at the time and possibly even advised Trudeau on what course of action to follow.

The Epoch Times attempted to get comments from Dong multiple times but didn’t receive a response.

Han Dong, now a federal MP, celebrating with supporters as a provincial Liberal candidate in the Toronto area on May 22, 2014. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

Chief of Staff Role

It’s rare for political staff to testify, due to the principle of ministerial responsibility, but Telford and other senior PMO staff did so at the public inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act to clear protests last year.

There, she explained her role as having two main functions, one to manage the PMO and the other to serve as a senior adviser to the prime minister.

“Our primary job is getting the Prime Minister the information that he needs, getting him the best advice from all parts of government, but also from outside of government that he needs to be able to accomplish what he committed to Canadians he would do if he were elected,” Telford told the inquiry on Nov. 24.

She added that the people in government she has the most contact with are the clerk of the Privy Council and Trudeau’s national security and intelligence adviser (NSIA).

“And they’re also the ones who have the most contact with the prime minister,” Telford said.

This means that Telford likely has been privy over the years to intelligence community reporting and assessments on the extent of Chinese regime interference in Canada.

According to another Global News report, from Feb. 8, Telford had herself requested a memo be produced on the topic as early as 2017. The report said she tasked then-NSIA Daniel Jean to produce the memo, which said Beijing sought to infiltrate “all levels of government.”

“[T]here is a substantial body of evidence that Chinese officials are actively pursuing a strategy of engagement to influence Canadian officials in ways that can compromise the security of Canada and the integrity of Canadian institutions,” said the memo, as reported by Global.

Global said it was unclear if that memo had reached Trudeau or the PMO, and Telford is likely to be asked about it.

Testimonies before Commons committees are typically not under oath, but the motion passed in PROC on March 21 stipulates that Telford appear alone for a minimum of two hours by herself, “provided that she be sworn or affirmed.”

The committee has announced that Telford will testify at its meeting on Friday, April 14, from noon to 2 p.m.

Another Warning

National security leaks in the media have also reported about a warning that Trudeau’s team would have received about another political player in Toronto.

The Globe and Mail reported on Feb. 13 that CSIS had warned about former Ontario cabinet minister Michael Chan, now deputy mayor of Markham. CSIS reportedly has a file on Chan over his links to Beijing.

Security officials reportedly told PMO staff, including Telford, to tell Mary Ng to be “extra careful” since Chan was involved in her campaign in 2017 and 2019.

Ng, currently minister of international trade, told the Globe she was never warned about Chan by the PMO.

Ng’s press secretary Shanti Cosentino previously told The Epoch Times that Ng does not have ties to Chan, “nor have they been in touch for many years. Any allegations beyond those facts are pure misinformation to dangerously mislead Canadians.”

Chan has called the allegations “false and unsubstantiated” and said they stoke racism.

Chan has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Epoch Times.

Former Ontario cabinet minister Michael Chan speaks at a rally held to condemn pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, in Markham, Ont., on Aug. 11, 2019. Yi Ling/The Epoch Times

Request for Dates

Along with seeking to hear from Telford, opposition PROC MPs have pressed the government to obtain all the dates that the prime minister and his staff received briefings from CSIS on interference by the Chinese regime.

They wrote a letter to the clerk of the Privy Council on April 6 to obtain the information, after top security officials said they would provide it in early March.

“The fact that no information has been provided, despite repeated follow-ups, appears to be a deliberate effort to obstruct the committee’s study on foreign election interference,” wrote the MPs.

PROC began its study on foreign election interference last fall, with the study gaining steam after the first national security leaks appeared in Global News in November.

Its report on the matter was presented to the House on March 8 and calls for holding a national public inquiry. The Liberal government has rejected the call and instead appointed former governor general David Johnston as special rapporteur on foreign interference.

Johnston’s mandate was fleshed out last week in a cabinet order-in-council, which states that his first report is due by May 23.

Marnie Cathcart and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.