Trudeau’s Office Blocked Han Dong’s Appointment to Commons Committee on China After Intelligence Briefing, Inquiry Told

Han Dong appears as a witness at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions in Ottawa on April 2, 2024. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

The Prime Minister’s Office blocked former Liberal MP Han Dong from sitting on the Commons Canada-China committee in 2019 after intelligence officials raised concerns about his actions, a senior official testified at the foreign interference inquiry.

Brian Clow, deputy chief of staff to the prime minister, told the Foreign Interference Commission that around December 2019, Dong’s name was proposed for membership on the Commons Canada-China committee. He said that “because of the concerns that officials had raised, PMO intervened and Mr. Dong was not appointed.”

Clow’s testimony was released by the commission on Oct. 16, along with testimony from other senior staff in the PMO.

Formed in 2019, the special Canada-China committee was tasked with reviewing “all aspects” of the  countries’ relationship. Its meetings have primarily focused on the Chinese communist regime’s human rights violations and aggressive behaviours, including the use of hostage diplomacy against Canadians.

The PMO’s intervention regarding Dong’s appointment followed a briefing from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to security-cleared Liberal Party representatives about “concerning potential irregularities” in the party’s 2019 nomination process for the Don Valley North riding, which Dong was elected to represent.

These irregularities include reports that buses were arranged to transport international students to the Liberal nomination to vote for Dong, despite not being residents of the riding. These students allegedly used falsified documents provided by individuals linked to a known proxy agent, according to an intelligence summary from CSIS released by the inquiry.

The summary also said that the students received “veiled threats” from the Chinese Consulate regarding potential impacts on their student visas if they did not support Dong.

The Chinese Consulate in Toronto is seen on April 25, 2023. Andrew Chen/The Epoch Times

Katie Telford, chief of staff to the prime minister, told the inquiry that she was briefed about Dong after the election but said that at the time, “there was very little information available,” and that “at that point the level of Mr. Dong’s engagement with the PRC [People’s Republic of China] was unclear.”

Trudeau Testimony

Testifying before the inquiry on Oct. 16, Trudeau said that there are several ways a party leader can act on classified information regarding foreign interference, including vetting members for specific parliamentary roles or cabinet positions.

“If there is an allegation... around inappropriate behaviour or poor judgment or untrustworthiness, as a party leader, I can decide which committees an individual sits on or doesn’t sit on; whether I give them a critic role, a parliamentary secretary role, or even a minister’s role,” Trudeau said. “We have many tools to respond depending on the seriousness of the allegation.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears as a witness at the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa, on Oct. 16, 2024. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

Trudeau added that if an MP is overly friendly with a consul general of a foreign state, they might be advised to end those relationships. The possibility of their consideration for a potential committee or parliamentary role would be revisited in the future if CSIS confirms there has been no contact.

Last year, Dong resigned from the Liberal caucus to sit as an Independent MP following media reports that cited national security sources alleging Dong’s close relationship with the Chinese consul-general in Toronto. Dong denied any wrongdoing and filed a lawsuit against Global News over the reports.

In his previous testimony to the inquiry, Dong acknowledged that he was aware “students from a private high school voted in the 2019 nomination contest in Don Valley North.”

“He does not know whether all those students voted for him, but believes it is likely most did because he visited the school as part of his nomination campaign and encouraged students to support his candidacy by volunteering and/or registering as Liberal party members if they were eligible,” stated a supplemental document regarding Dong’s evidence for the inquiry.

Meanwhile, Dong’s campaign manager, Ted Lojko, testified at the inquiry that he was not aware of “buses specifically for students or international students” during the 2019 Liberal nomination. He also said he had no knowledge of any campaigns where may have Dong solicited international students.

Noé Chartier contributed to this report.