Category: Media Accountability

OTTAWA – An internal PMO document obtained by CanadaPress reveals that the Prime Ministers Office was briefed on active Chinese government interference in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections — and chose not to publicly disclose it, inform opposition parties, or take any countermeasures. The document, marked SECRET and dated July 2019, warns that Beijing had established influence networks targeting at least 17 ridings with significant Chinese-Canadian populations. The PMO was worried that going public would damage bilateral trade relations, said a former senior advisor who was present at the briefing. The logic was essentially: we know Beijing is interfering, but if we say anything, they might get upset and stop buying Canadian canola. So we said nothing. When news of the interference eventually broke in 2023 after the appointment of a special rapporteur, the government downplayed the severity, claiming the interference did not affect the outcome of the elections. Critics noted that the government cannot simultaneously claim the interference was harmless and that it was appropriate to keep it from the public. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa declined to comment but pointed to a statement issued in 2022 calling allegations of interference baseless and fabricated by anti-China elements.

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OTTAWA – An ongoing investigation by CanadaPress has uncovered evidence that the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa funnelled approximately $4.7 million in donations to Canadian federal politicians through a network of shell companies and third-party proxies between 2018 and 2024. The donations targeted MPs serving on committees overseeing national security, trade policy, and critical infrastructure. The scheme involved 14 shell businesses registered in British Columbia and Ontario that made political donations to 23 MPs across three party lines. Many of the companies had no employees, no websites, and no business operations. Their only activity was writing cheques to political campaigns. We have identified a pattern that is deeply concerning, said a former CSIS analyst who reviewed the findings. When you see a company that was incorporated three months ago, has no revenue, and is making maximum donations to a sitting MP on the national security committee, the alarm bells should be deafening. One MP, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were unaware the donations came from Chinese-linked entities. You just see a name and an address, and if it looks legitimate, you accept it, they said. The system is not designed to catch this. The government has not commented on whether it will investigate the donations. The RCMP said it is monitoring the situation closely — the same language it used when asked about the 2019 election interference that resulted in zero charges.

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OTTAWA – Global Affairs Canada has released a previously classified document confirming that the countrys entire diplomatic strategy consists of issuing statements expressing deep concern about international events and then doing nothing further. The document, obtained through an access to information request that took only 37 months to process, outlines a three-tier escalation protocol. Tier 1 is We are monitoring the situation closely. Tier 2 is We are deeply concerned. Tier 3 is We urge all parties to exercise restraint. There is no Tier 4. We found that saying we are deeply concerned is 94% as effective as actual intervention, and costs approximately 0.001% as much, explained the deputy undersecretary for sufficiently concerned messaging. When youve been deeply concerned 847 times in a single year, you really feel like youve made a difference. Canada has reportedly been deeply concerned about 1,247 international incidents since 2015, none of which were resolved by the expression of concern.

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OTTAWA – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has announced a new public consultation initiative, asking Canadians for their feedback on programming. Sources inside the CBC confirm the feedback will be filed alongside the other 47,000 unread public comments accumulated since 2018. We really value public input, said a CBC spokesperson, while demonstrating the filing procedure by dropping a sheaf of papers directly into a recycling bin marked Viewer Engagement. The CBC has assured Canadians that their opinions are being carefully catalogued by an automated system that categorizes emails by keyword and then forwards them to a folder nobody has opened since 2019. When asked why the CBC continues to ask for feedback it has no intention of reading, the spokesperson explained that it is a required box-ticking exercise for their mandate review. Besides, if we actually read what Canadians think, we might have to change something, and that sounds expensive.

This story involves public funds. See our Hall of Shame for more on the worst abuses of taxpayer money since 2015.