LILLEY: Trudeau’s inquiry appearance reeks of political gamesmanship

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Published Oct 16, 2024  •  3 minute read

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is sworn in as a witness at the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. Photo by Justin Tang /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Once again, Justin Trudeau showed there is no issue so serious that he wouldn’t use it for his own political advantage.

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While testifying before the Foreign Interference Commission, Trudeau accused the Conservatives of harbouring people involved in foreign interference and Leader Pierre Poilievre of looking the other way.

In a dramatic and seemingly rehearsed moment, Trudeau spent five minutes ranting in answer to a question.

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“I have the names of a number of parliamentarians, former parliamentarians and/or candidates in the Conservative Party of Canada who are engaged or at high risk of or for whom there is clear intelligence around foreign interference,” Trudeau said.

“The decision of the leader of the Conservative party to not receive the necessary clearance to get those names and protect the integrity of his party is bewildering to me and entirely lacks common sense.”

Trudeau apologized for being a “little more partisan,” as if his statement were driven by the moment instead of a carefully planned attack on Poilievre.

In response, Poilievre accused Trudeau of lying and dared him to release all the names of anyone working with foreign governments.

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“My message to Justin Trudeau is: Release the names of all MPs that have collaborated with foreign interference,” Poilievre said.

“But he won’t. Because Justin Trudeau is doing what he always does: He is lying. He is lying to distract from a Liberal caucus revolt against his leadership and revelations he knowingly allowed Beijing to interfere and help him win two elections.”

The Sun has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office asking if they would like to comment on Poilievre’s “lying” accusation, but has yet to hear back.

Trudeau has long known the names of MPs accused by CSIS of being involved in or the target of foreign interference. In the only publicly known case, former Liberal and now Independent MP Han Dong, Trudeau was warned of the concerns raised by CSIS and appears to have done nothing until the story broke in the media.

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In 2019, CSIS briefed the Liberals weeks before the election, according to a Global News in February 2023. They warned of concerns that the Chinese Consulate had allegedly been involved in Dong’s nomination and had helped select the Liberal candidate.

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Dong has denied any knowledge of foreign interference with his nomination.

Dong ran again in 2021 and was re-elected as a Liberal. He only left the Liberal caucus after media reports broke about the concerns given to Trudeau more than three years earlier.

Even after this news was made public, Trudeau denied foreign interference was a problem. His party blocked investigations by Commons committees and he only called the inquiry after being forced by Parliament to act.

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Now Trudeau wants you to know that his government has always been on top of this file and the real problem is Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives.

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Poilievre said that neither he not his chief of staff Ian Todd, who has his security clearance, had been alerted by CSIS about the claims Trudeau made.

“My chief of staff has received classified briefings from the government. At no time has the government told me or my chief of staff of any current or former Conservative parliamentarian or candidate knowingly participating in foreign interference,” Poilievre said.

“If Justin Trudeau has evidence to the contrary, he should share it with the public. Now that he has blurted it out in general terms at a commission of inquiry, he should release the facts. But he won’t — because he is making it up.”

Trudeau is playing political games with an issue that should be above partisan blood sport.

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Even his choice of words made it sound like many Conservative MPs or candidates were actively working with foreign governments when they may very well have been the target of China or India.

Poilievre has been calling for all of the names to be released, even those within his party, for more than a year. He has once again called Trudeau’s bluff in demanding the names be released.

The public deserves to know and MPs deserve the right to defend their reputation.

Release the names now; Trudeau needs to stop playing games.

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