India, China accused of meddling in Canadian polls

India, China accused of meddling in Canadian polls

Apr 13 - Several students at a high school in China were forced to vote for a Liberal Party candidate. China has poured tens of thousands of dollars into the election, although the amount is not yet clear. A proxy agent of the Indian government is illegally funding pro-Indian politicians in Canada.'

Many such allegations have emerged in the investigation into allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections. The case is being heard in Canada for the past two weeks.

According to officials, the document submitted by Canada's intelligence agencies to the inquiry committee contains multiple allegations against India and China. These documents are being scrutinized carefully.

At the same time, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS, warned that the report presented may contain information that is known from only one source, information that is incomplete or not fully checked.

Recently China and India have been accused of interfering in Canada's affairs. India, however, dismissed the allegations as 'baseless'. China has also denied the allegations leveled against them.

But a section of politicians said that the effect of this intervention has been seen in their political life. Members of several expatriate communities in Canada have cited security risks and blamed agents linked to their home countries' governments.

What the report says

Testimony was taken from members of various communities living in Canada at the time of the inquiry. It has exposed expatriates' complaints of risks from agents associated with their home country's government.

The inquiry is headed by Judge Marie-Josie Hogg. He heard the testimony of 40 members of the said community, politicians and election officials before submitting the first report of the inquiry next month.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will appear before the committee of inquiry on Wednesday. He said that he is ready to answer all the questions of the inquiry committee.

Meanwhile, victims of allegations of foreign interference have alleged that CSIS and other officials either did not do enough to deal with the issue or kept them (victims) in the dark.

Canada's own intelligence agency says the government is not doing enough to tackle the issue and that Canada is lagging behind other allies in the 'Five Eyes' alliance.

Incidentally, the 'Five Eyes' is an alliance consisting of the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada that share intelligence information.

As alleged interference

Evidence and partially classified documents so far have revealed some of the ways that Chinese or foreign governments may have tried to interfere in Canada's 2019 and 2022 elections.

However, so far there is no evidence to suggest that foreign interference has had an impact on election results.

CSIS alleged that the Chinese government ‘fraudulently' interfered in the 2019 and 2022 elections.

Basically, the agency said in a press conference, “Interference was observed in practice. Primarily with the interests of the People's Republic of China in mind, efforts were made to gain support from those who were pro-China or neutral towards that country."

"Based on online and media activity, we have learned that Canadians of Chinese descent are being asked not to support former Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole."

Erin O'Toole gave her statement to the inquiry committee last week. At the time, it was   alleged that the spread of misinformation had affected election campaign. As a result, the party lost about 9 seats in the 2021 elections.

Although it did not affect the final outcome of the election, Erin O'Toole's conviction resulted in her losing the lead.

Incidentally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party won the majority in this election.

Allegations against India and Pakistan

Intelligence agency CSIS has claimed in its report that India and Pakistan tried to interfere in Canadian elections.

Allegations against India claim that a 'proxy agent' of the Indian government carried out all the activities. The agent was also tasked with supporting pro-India candidates in 'several constituencies'.

The CSI report said, "The proxy agent believed that some Canadian voters of Indian origin were in favor of the Khalistani Movement or Pakistan."

Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau had alleged the Indian government's involvement in the killing of Indian-origin Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijja. Khalistani separatist leader Nijja was killed in Canada in June 2023. However, India dismissed Prime Minister Trudeau's allegations as 'baseless'.

Allegations of interference have also been made against Pakistan. According to the CSIS report, Pakistan's intervention efforts were limited and aimed primarily at 'reducing India's growing influence in the world'.

According to the statement presented before the inquiry committee, CSIS and other officials were aware of these allegations. But despite this, the general public was not informed about this. Even the leaders who were 'targeted' were not warned about it.

Erin O'Toole said she was concerned about interference in the 2021 election. But at that time the matter was not taken seriously.

Nathalie Drouin, Prime Minister Trudeau's national security adviser, was one of the top officials on the panel reviewing allegations of election interference at the time.

His counter-claim was that there was insufficient evidence at the time to substantiate allegations of China's activities against the Conservative Party.

He also said there was a risk that any intervention by the panel could backfire and cause confusion among the general public.

What charges against China?

According to the CSIA report, about 250,000 Canadian dollars (184,000 US dollars) were paid to an employee of an unidentified candidate from China in the 2019 election. Others are also paid for intervention purposes.

The intelligence agency alleged that students from a private high school in China were brought in on a chartered bus in 2019 to help Liberal Party candidate Han Dong. Allegedly, this move is for Han Dong to be a candidate for his party.

CSIS claimed that the students were threatened that 'not supporting Han Dong could lead to problems with their student visas and the consequences for their families living in China.'

Han Dong is now an independent leader. He said in his statement that he had met Chinese students and encouraged them to register as members of the Liberal Party during the election campaign, but denied any conspiracy in the incident.

He said international students studying in Canada can vote for Liberal Party candidates if they live in the constituency and have proof of that.-BBC