Sen. Victor Oh, left, sits with Sen. Yuen Pau Woo during the National Remembrance Ceremony for the 100th Anniversary of the Introduction of the Chinese Exclusion Act, in the Senate Chamber in Ottawa, on June 23, 2023.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
A group of human rights activists have written the foreign interference inquiry to relay their concerns about two Canadian senators, and urged the commission to examine their pro-Beijing commentary and alleged ties to the Chinese government.
In a submission to the inquiry Tuesday, the Chinese Canadian Concern Group on the Chinese Communist Party’s Human Rights Violations, urged the commission to be cautious in its dealings with Independent Senator Yuen Pau Woo and Conservative Senator Victor Oh, who retired from the Red Chamber on June 10 upon turning 75.
“The Concern Group would like to highlight these Senators’ close ties with the Chinese government and pro-CCP community leaders in Canada,” the group wrote, referring to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “Sens. Woo and Oh appear to be intent on discrediting efforts to uncover and investigate Chinese interference in Canada.”
The group emphasized that they are not accusing the two politicians of breaking laws or betraying Canada, but said they have made “deeply troubling” statements in support of some Chinese government policies and distorted calls for a foreign-agent registry by equating it to the racist Chinese Exclusion Act.
“It is our assertion that the perceived exceptionally close ties between the two senators and the Chinese government and its keen supporters warrants a thorough discussion and further study by the commission,” the submission stated.
The group said they want the commission, headed by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, to provide a mechanism for the government and law enforcement agencies to investigate, disclose and prosecute public officials who betray Canada.
The Concern Group, a grassroots coalition, was granted intervenor standing by Justice Hogue in both the first and second phases of the inquiry. Its spokespeople include Cheuk Kwan, co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China, and Victor Ho, a former editor-in-chief of Sing Tao Daily, one of Canada’s largest Chinese-language newspapers.
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Justice Hogue has agreed to a motion adopted by the Commons last week to investigate the alleged “role that certain parliamentarians may have played” and report back on Dec. 31 when she completes her mandate.
The group raised concerns that the commission granted standing to Mr. Woo in the final hearings into foreign meddling that begins in the fall. This type of standing means he can cross-examine witnesses and gain access to evidence collected, including that presented to the inquiry outside of hearings.
Mr. Woo was granted intervenor status during the first phase of the hearings, which allowed him to present legal arguments in the examination of foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections.
The group pointed to a Feb. 6 submission to the inquiry by Mr. Woo where he disputed the findings of two federal election-monitoring reports that suggest the Chinese government in 2021 may have targeted then-Conservative leader Erin O’Toole and former fellow MP Kenny Chiu through disinformation campaigns.
“He has consistently taken similar positions on any attempt by the government or the media to investigate foreign interference in Canada by China,” the group wrote. “The Concern Group is concerned that Sen. Woo will continue to undermine efforts to understand and address foreign interference in Canada through his involvement in this inquiry.”
Mr. Woo, an expert in Asian affairs, was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016. He has been accused by Conservative senators of being an apologist for Beijing after he opposed a motion that was critical of China constructing artificial islands and military airfields in the South China Sea. He has argued that a foreign-influence registry could do more harm than good.
Mr. Woo has said it was part of his job to meet foreign government officials from China and other countries, and he was concerned that the current focus on foreign interference is detrimental to Canadian officials’ ability to do their work.
Reached Tuesday, the B.C. senator said he hopes his own submissions to the public inquiry will be read more widely as a result of this group’s submission to the commission.
Mr. Woo said the Concern Group’s remarks only serve “to confirm my deep concern about the stigmatization of individuals because of allegations about the views they hold rather than any meaningful evidence of foreign interference.”
He said the group is “essentially saying that Canadians who disagree with their positions on certain issues should be considered possible agents of a foreign power.”
Mr. Woo, referring to Bill C-70, aimed at combatting foreign meddling, said Canadians should be concerned about legislation that goes too far. The Concern Group’s intervention, he said, “is a timely reminder of the dangers of an overly broad foreign interference law as we have in C-70, which is currently before the Senate.”
Mr. Oh did not immediately reply to a request for comment but he told CTV News last week that “Canada is always first thing in my heart – and I look forward to carry on, whatever time I have, [I am] loyal to Canada.”
In December, the two senators threw their support behind two Chinese-Canadian community centres in Montreal that threatened to sue the RCMP over public comments about its investigation into whether these facilities were being used as illegal police stations by Beijing to intimidate or harass people of Chinese origin. The lawsuit ultimately went ahead.
When China imprisoned Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, Mr. Woo had advocated for a negotiated solution that included detained Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou – as did prominent Liberals from the Jean Chrétien era, such as former justice minister Allan Rock and former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy.
In its submission, the group said Mr. Oh, appointed to the Senate by Stephen Harper in 2013, made many trips to China paid for by various sponsors, including three Chinese provincial governments, and met officials from the United Front Work Department, Chinese People’s Consultative Conference and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. These organization are used by Chinese Communist Party to influence Chinese diaspora outside China.