OTTAWA — The federal government failed to protect Canada’s democracy in the last two federal elections, the Conservative party said Tuesday.
In response to Tuesday’s release of Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue’s final report on foreign interference, the Tories said her report confirms many of the allegations they’ve levelled against the Trudeau Liberals.
“All this evidence amounts to proof that the Liberal government failed to protect our democracy from foreign meddling in the 2019 and 2021 general elections,” said a party news release.
“It also leaves Canadians with concerns that the government failed to inform the public or take appropriate action to stop this interference because it was in the political interest of the Liberal party.”
Spadina-Fort York MP Kevin Vuong, who told Postmedia in 2023 the circumstances of his ouster as a Liberal candidate came at the hands of a Chinese meddling campaign, told the Toronto Sun he was both concerned and dismayed about Hogue’s findings.
“Our democracy and our values got shortchanged for what amounts to political expediency and a whitewashing,” he said.
“Canadians deserved better.”
One of six major incidents highlighted in Hogue’s report on Tuesday involved an operation “to reduce the election chances of a specific Liberal party candidate” over positions “perceived to be contrary to the state’s interests” that “likely had a negative impact on the individual’s political career.”
Vuong maintains that incident, which was also referenced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his commission testimony, refers specifically to his situation — an allegation that investigative journalist Sam Cooper said during an October news conference is consistent with what is generally known about the case.
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Last-minute revelations of a withdrawn sexual assault charge prompted the Liberals to drop Vuong just days before the September 2021 election.
Vuong maintains the incident behind the dropped charge involving an encounter with a former girlfriend was part of a honey trap operation perpetrated by Beijing over his opposition to China’s communist government.
Speaking to reporters from Burnaby, B.C., federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said one of his big takeaways from the report was Hogue’s concern over the growing issue of online misinformation.
“What we want to see are the recommendations that Justice Hogue has made be implemented,” he said.
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