MP Michael Chong says Canada needs to ‘catch up’ to allies on national security threats | CBC News

Conservative MP Michael Chong told a committee of fellow parliamentarians Tuesday that Canada needs to “catch up” to its allies on addressing foreign interference threats against politicians.

The Globe and Mail, citing a top secret document from 2021, reported earlier this month that the Chinese government was targeting a Canadian MP. An unnamed security source reportedly told the Globe that Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei was allegedly working on efforts to target Chong’s family in China.

Appearing before the House procedure and affairs committee Tuesday evening, Chong said the attempted interference “would likely not have happened” if Canada had policies in place similar to those in the U.S. and the U.K.

“Canada needs to catch up and emulate the best practices of peer jurisdictions to ensure that critical national security and intelligence issues do not become bottlenecked within the bureaucracy and the executive,” Chong said.

WATCH | Michael Chong discusses ways to improve national security

‘Canada needs to catch up’ to allies on national security policies: Chong

Conservative MP Michael Chong says the current national security system should be reviewed to ensure the safety of Parliamentarians from foreign threats.

The government briefed Chong following the report — but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have maintained that the report in question was never shared at the ministerial level in 2021. They’ve said they were not aware of the assessment until it was reported on by the Globe and Mail.

Chong has said in the House of Commons that Jody Thomas, the prime minister’s national security adviser, told him the 2021 CSIS report was sent to the Privy Council Office and to relevant government departments.

During his opening remarks on Tuesday, Chong called on the committee to request the tracking records for the 2021 CSIS report to shed light on where the information went.

He later said the failure to notify him that his family might be targeted by foreign agents amounted to a “systemic breakdown in the machinery of government.” He said the buck ultimately stops with the prime minister.

“The machinery of government is the responsibility of the prime minister alone,” Chong said. “I think it’s clear that the prime minister failed to architect the machinery of government in a way that would ensure that information flowed to MPs and to the House of Commons.”

The government expelled Zhao from the country last week. The House of Commons voted unanimously to refer Zhao’s alleged attempt to intimate Chong to a House committee for further study as a “prima facie” case of contempt of Parliament.

Since the Globe and Mail’s story was published, CSIS has since reached out to other MPs to offer them briefings on foreign interference.

Government orders CSIS to directly brief MPs

Earlier Tuesday, the government issued a ministerial directive ordering CSIS to share more information directly with Parliamentarians under threat, and to create a direct line to the minister of public safety

Chong’s committee appearance comes ahead of four federal byelections taking place next month.

The government announced Tuesday that the Security and Intelligence Threats (SITE) task force — an election threat task force consisting of Canada’s top security agencies — will provide “enhanced monitoring” during the byelection period.

The task force is expected to provide regular assessments of foreign interference threats to a committee of deputy ministers, who will brief members of cabinet if needed.

SITE is also tasked with preparing two reports — one classified, one unclassified — about any attempts at interfering in the byelections.

Trudeau has tasked former governor general David Johnston with determining what the government’s next steps should be to combat foreign interference. He is expected to tell the government by May 23 if he believes a public inquiry or some other form of investigation is needed.