Ms Telford, who is believed to be Justin Trudeau’s closest adviser and Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) figurehead, testified before the Committee on Procedures and Household Affairs to discuss what she said about alleged Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections white.

The controversy was fueled in particular by documents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) – which the daily newspaper reports on The Globe and the Mail got their hands on it – claiming that during the 2021 election the Chinese government was pushing to elect a minority liberal government and sidelined some conservative candidates.

Other information revealed by the network this time Global Newspropose Chinese intervention in the 2019 federal election in Canada.

On Friday, the Tories opened the meeting by asking Ms Telford for the details of those reports, which cited unnamed sources. The latter, who has a top-secret security clearance, said she cannot answer specific intelligence questions because the issues are extremely sensitive and the law restricts what she can speak about publicly. She suggested some reports were inaccurate without giving details.

As this is a public hearing, I cannot go into detail.Katie Telford told Conservative MP Michael Cooper, who wanted to know when Prime Minister Trudeau got wind of Beijing’s attempts to meddle in the election.

During my years in this position I have seen a great deal of information from all parts of the world. Some of them were wrong, some of them were right, she said. Some we may never know, or only time will tell if it’s true.

” Security and intelligence issues cannot be discussed publicly as is the case here. »

She also claimed that Conservative MPs’ insistence on obtaining sensitive intelligence information would endanger Canada and Canada’s security could have negative effects on allied countries.

“Our system works”

In response to a question from MNA Rachel Blaney of the New Democratic Party (NDP) about the amounts that would have been paid during the campaign to encourage Liberal candidates to win, the chief of staff replied: These claims are wrong.

In question commentappreciated Bloc Québécois parliamentary vice-president Christine Normandin, after listing worrying information about foreign interference that the issue is becoming too large to be kept internally and not subject to independent public scrutiny.

Opposition parties have been calling for a public, independent inquiry into allegations of foreign interference for several months. On Friday, Ms. Blaney asked Ms. Telford why a resistance in Ottawa given such a request.

Reaffirming her confidence in Canada’s electoral process, Katie Telford recalled that earlier in March, Justin Trudeau appointed former governor-general David Johnston as special rapporteur to assess the extent and consequences of foreign interference. It is up to him by May 23 to decide whether a public and independent inquiry is necessary.

She claimed that in her opinion the Trudeau government had taken over strong measures in order to protect yourself from foreign interference. Our system works well, she added. Canadians can count on that.

Few answers to “simple” questions

Tory MP Rachael Thomas slammed Ms Telford for failing to answer questions from colleagues that were easy and that was not referring to information that could endanger national security or intelligence.

The Prime Minister receives regular briefings, reads everything and nothing is hidden from himsaid Ms Thomas, referring to a statement made by Ms Telford earlier in her testimony.

Given these facts, the Conservative MP said the committee must assume that the prime minister knew of the briefing and information and warnings from those responsible for the country’s security about Beijing’s interference and chose to avoid and ignore them. And one has to conclude that the decision to ignore this information is not in the interest of the Canadian public, it is in the interest of the Liberal Party of Canada. The latter received money to win constituencies. I will say no more.

Katie Telford pointed out inconsistencies in MP Thomas’s speech and advised him to contact the relevant authorities if she thinks crimes have been committed.

She said she shouldn’t have testified before that committee to answer national security questions, but agreed because she wanted Parliament to work.

Ms Telford also reiterated that foreign interference was not under the authority of the Prime Minister or Cabinet and that if disciplinary action was required, it would be dealt with by national security agencies, including the US Secret Service RCMPas well as Elections Canada.

Earlier witnesses of the past few months – including the big boss of the CSIS and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly have revealed little and also referred to national security laws that restrict their ability to testify.