OTTAWA — The federal government continues to investigate why ministers were not made aware of threats by Chinese authorities against Conservative MP Michael Chong, Public Safety Secretary Marco Mendicino said.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Liberal political convention in Ottawa, he said the possibility of holding someone accountable for the decision was “still being explored.”

Mr Mendicino says it is also important to know why this information was not shared with his predecessor Bill Blair, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Mr Chong himself.

The government has now made it clear to Canada’s Security Intelligence Agency (CSIS) that all information on parliamentarians must be passed to both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Public Safety, regardless of the agency’s trust.

Michael Chong discovered just last week after a report in the Globe and Mail that CSIS had information in 2021 that the Chinese government was looking for ways to intimidate him and his extended family in Hong Kong.

Mr Chong had sponsored a motion in the lower house that called Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province a genocide.

Justin Trudeau said CSIS has not shared what information it has about the threats with anyone outside of the agency, but Chong learned the national security adviser had been notified two years ago.

Prime Minister and former Secretary of State Bill Blair claim they were never told.

Minister Mendicino says it is a “serious problem” that neither Mr Blair nor Mr Trudeau were made aware of the situation by CSIS.

The revelation about Mr Chong is the latest in a series of attempts at foreign interference allegedly made by the Chinese government in Canada in recent years, including efforts to influence the results of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

All political parties have agreed that any attempted interference will not affect the final outcome of these elections, but Mr Trudeau has appointed a special rapporteur to investigate what happened and how Canada has reacted and should react.

Former governor-general David Johnston, who was appointed to the post, is scheduled to decide in about three weeks whether a public inquiry is needed and will report any findings by the fall.

Opposition parties want to move forward with a public inquiry.

China denies everything, including claims that one of its Toronto-based diplomats tried to launch an intimidation campaign against Mr Chong and his family.

“We regret and reject the baseless slander from the Canadian side of the Chinese diplomatic and consular mission in Canada, which is only performing its duties,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said, according to a Chinese government translation.

Mendicino said Canada’s priority is to determine what sanctions should be imposed on China’s representation in the country, including the ability to expel diplomats. But no decision has yet been made as the federal government weighs its options under international conventions and the possible consequences of expelling diplomats.

“At the top of this hierarchy of priorities is the need to hold those who drive and orchestrate foreign interference accountable for those actions,” he said.

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly summoned the Chinese ambassador to discuss the allegations.

Mr Mendicino said he dismissed all Tories’ accusations that the government was not taking the issue seriously, arguing it was important to keep political rhetoric on foreign interference low to ensure China or other foreign actors did not believe that attempts to meddle in Canada will work.

“The purpose of foreign interference is to undermine our democracy and when you politicize this debate and propose or attack a false motive, you are fueling that,” he said.

He assured that foreign interference does not work now and will not work in the future. “And those orchestrating these activities of foreign interference need to know that they will not succeed.”