LILLEY: Trudeau plays politics, refuses to take foreign interference seriously

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Published Oct 15, 2024  •  3 minute read

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacts during a joint press conference with Poland's prime minister in Warsaw on Feb. 26, 2024. Photo by Sergei Gapon /AFP via Getty Images

Justin Trudeau wants us to think he and his government take foreign interference seriously. If so, why did it take 54 days to approve a warrant to surveil a top Liberal donor?

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The answer, as it always does with this government, lies in partisan politics.

Even the timing of this announcement — when Trudeau is facing a caucus coup and ever worsening polling numbers — is suspect. Is Trudeau making this announcement as big and dramatic as he has to escape the heat he’s feeling from within his own party to step down?

“There will be time to talk about internal party intrigue at another moment, but right now, this government and indeed all Parliamentarians should be focused on standing up for Canada’s sovereignty,” Trudeau said.

The problem is that Trudeau and his Liberal government have not stood up for Canadian sovereignty. They have been selective in how they do it based on diaspora politics and voting blocs they hope to win over.

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When it comes to standing up to the Indian government of Narendra Modi, Trudeau is willing to act and take a strong stand because he knows that plays well in parts of the Sikh community. This is a voting bloc the Liberals have done well with in the past, and so Trudeau has been more than happy to sour relations between Canada and India to help his partisan political fortunes.

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On the issue of foreign interference by China, it’s another matter.

While Chinese Canadians are the target of coercion and intimidation by the Chinese government, we’ve seen enough evidence that Beijing has been helping the Liberals to understand why Trudeau doesn’t act on that file.

When Trudeau was briefed on concerns by CSIS that his Liberal candidate in Toronto’s Don Valley North riding had been helped in his nomination by Beijing, Trudeau not only chose not to replace Han Dong, he chose not to follow up after the 2019 election was over to see if there were concerns.

The concerns raised by CSIS about Dong were sufficient enough that when the Liberal whip suggested he be appointed to Canada-China committee in the Commons, the PMO intervened to stop it. They still allowed Dong to sit in caucus and to run for re-election under the Liberal banner in 2021.

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When CSIS sought a warrant to surveil a top level Liberal, reportedly fundraisers, organizer and former Ontario MPP Michael Chan, it took 54 days to be signed by Trudeau’s then-public safety minister Bill Blair. The Liberals have denied that delay was political, even in the face of evidence that other warrants were signed in four to eight days.

And as fellow Toronto Sun columnist Warren Kinsella has pointed out, Iran is active across Canada funding protests and rallies against Israel.

All interference should be taken seriously, including what the Trudeau government unveiled on Monday. The only foreign interference he’s taking seriously and acting on is India because he feels it benefits him politically.

“For nine years, the Liberal government has failed to keep our people safe or to take national security and foreign interference seriously. Because of that, Canada has become a playground for these activities,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement.

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“We expect the full criminal prosecution of anyone and everyone who has threatened, murdered or otherwise harmed Canadian citizens.”

That would apply to the people who have set up secret Chinese police stations, which the Trudeau government had trouble shutting down, while the Americans filed charges.

Canada needs a serious government that puts the needs of the country ahead of their political party. Sadly, we don’t have that with the Trudeau Liberals.

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