Privy Council knew in 2021 of Chinese threats to Chong’s family, contradicting Trudeau
Conservative MP Michael Chong said the Privy Council Office's (PCO) staff were informed of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service's (CSIS) assessment that his family was targeted by Chinese Communist agents two years ago.
This contradicts the prime minister, who said that CSIS had not shared this information with anyone outside the security agency.
On Thursday, Chong said he was just informed by Jody Thomas, the current national security adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the CSIS assessment from July 20, 2021, was shared with the national security adviser at the PCO and other departments at that time.
It allegedly contains the details that China targeted Chong and several other MPs
“This contradicts what the prime minister said yesterday,” Chong said in the House of Commons.
“Will the prime minister correct the record?”
On Wednesday, Trudeau said the information about threats against Michael Chong and his family was not “briefed out” of CSIS and that the security agency “made the determination that it wasn’t something that needed to be raised to a higher level because it wasn’t a significant enough concern.”
Trudeau instructed CSIS to inform him of any threats against MPs, regardless of how the security agency assesses the intelligence.
The inconsistencies from Trudeau’s government came out just a few days after the Globe and Mail reported in 2021 CSIS compiled a top-secret report showing Chong and his family had been targeted by Chinese Communist agents for his support of the Uyghur community in China.
The CSIS report implicated Wei Zhao, a Chinese diplomat, as the agent specifically targeting Chong.
On Thursday, various opposition members demanded Wei's expulsion from Canada.
