Commissioner Justice Marie-Josee Hogue listens to a lawyer speak at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Election Processes and Democratic Institutions on Feb. 2 in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The human-rights group Canadian Friends of Hong Kong says it won’t participate in Canada’s public inquiry into foreign interference, citing what it calls grave concerns about the standing granted to three politicians with alleged ties to the Chinese government.
In January, an organization representing Uyghur Canadians announced it was withdrawing from the public inquiry over the same matter. The refusals to participate threaten to undermine the commission’s ability to hear from all vulnerable communities facing persecution from China.
Both diaspora groups are upset because Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue granted full standing to former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Michael Chan, now deputy mayor of Markham, Ont., and independent MP Han Dong. This type of standing means they can cross-examine witnesses and gain access to evidence collected, including that presented to the inquiry outside of hearings.
Justice Hogue, a judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal, also granted intervenor status to Senator Yuen Pau Woo during the fact-finding phase of the hearings, which allows him to participate in the hearings examining foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections. He also has standing during the second policy phase where the inquiry is supposed to recommend changes to better protect Canada.
“We have grave concerns regarding the objectivity and the security integrity of the Foreign Interference Commission of Inquiry, primarily due to standing being granted to individuals suspected to have strong ties to the Chinese consulates, and their proxies,” Canadian Friends of Hong Kong (CFHK) said in a statement. “We denounce the granting of full standing to MP Han Dong and Michael Chan and intervenor status to Senator Yuen Pau Woo.”
The organization said it would not want to present documents or testify before the inquiry because Mr. Dong and Mr. Chan could have access to documentary evidence and cross-examine witnesses. “Even if documents are heavily redacted, just the title of the documents, if seen by our adversaries, will give them a target as they will know what to look for,” Canadian Friends of Hong Kong said.
The group objected to intervenor status for Mr. Woo, which allows him to present legal arguments in the hearings. CFHK argued that Mr. Woo distorted calls for a foreign-agent registry by equating it to the racist Chinese Exclusion Act. “This public inquiry risks becoming a taxpayer funded platform to disseminate disinformation and propaganda for the CCP,” the organization said, using an abbreviation for the Chinese Communist Party.
CFHK did not apply for full standing, unlike the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, which was part of the Human Rights Coalition, an umbrella body of Canadian organizations that have spoken out against China’s foreign interference and human-rights abuses. However, Gloria Fung, president of Canada-Hong Kong Link, which represents people from Hong Kong and is also a member of the rights coalition, said her group would continue to participate in the inquiry.
CFHK spokesperson Ivy Li said in an exchange with The Globe that the group didn’t apply for full standing because of the short May 3 deadline for the inquiry to issue its first report and concerns that the inquiry would not be “a fair and independent process.”
China expert Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a board member of the China Strategic Risks Institute, said “it is a sign of serious missteps of this inquiry that a second diaspora group is concerned about the risks of exposing sensitive intimidation by Beijing to three individuals accused of having close ties to the CCP.”
Justice Hogue has said there are ways to protect witnesses, saying they can apply evidence “received other than in a manner fully accessible to the participants and the public” including in-camera testimony or with their names redacted.
Ms. McCuaig-Johnston said the inquiry’s “vague assurances” of providing confidentiality to witnesses who are afraid for their safety are “not sufficient protection.” Justice Hogue said full standing was granted to Mr. Dong and Mr. Chan because they had “reputational interest” to defend but also noted that “the right to cross-examination granted to the parties is not absolute.”
In December, Justice Hogue rejected an appeal of the standing granted to these politicians, saying the commission “cannot make findings of fact or jump to conclusions before hearing the evidence.”
Human-rights activist Marcus Kolga, an expert on Russian foreign interference and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said anyone participating before the inquiry needs to be properly vetted for connections with foreign authoritarian governments.
“Failing to do so could put the safety of witnesses at risk, compromise the integrity of the inquiry and, at worst, put our national security at risk as well,” he said.
CFHK said in its statement that the three politicians “could tell their side of the story as witnesses, subject to the same cross-examination like all other witnesses, rather than being examiners.”
“We also urge fellow Canadians, particularly those in the CCP victim communities, to exercise extreme caution and not to participate in the inquiry unless the risks involved have been credibly and adequately addressed,” it added.
The commission didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the refusal of Canadian Friends of Hong Kong to participate in the hearings. Last week, however, commission spokesman Michael Tansey said any information or evidence submitted in confidence “whether through the commission’s confidential e-mail address, further to an agreement with commission counsel, or further to directions or an order from the commissioner, will not be shared with anyone except designated commission counsel.”
Mr. Chan has for years been a national-security target of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service because of alleged links to China’s Toronto consulate and association with proxies of Beijing. The long-time Liberal Party politician has been linked by CSIS to Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei, who was expelled from Canada in May after The Globe revealed he had been behind plans to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and family members in Hong Kong.
Mr. Chan has said he is a loyal Canadian and accused CSIS of character assassination.
Mr. Dong left the Liberal caucus in March, saying he wanted to clear his name after Global News reported that he allegedly told a Chinese diplomat in February, 2021, that releasing imprisoned Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from detention in China would benefit the Conservatives. Former governor-general David Johnston, named by the government as special rapporteur on foreign interference, deemed those allegations false. Mr. Dong has strongly denied the allegations and is suing Global News.
Mr. Chan was not immediately available to comment. Mr. Dong said he had “full confidence that Commissioner Hogue and the commission counsel will ensure that the Foreign Interference Inquiry is conducted in a respectful and fair way.” Mr. Woo, responding to CFHK’s decision not to participate, said: “It is unfortunate that they have so little confidence in their position as to give up on the inquiry at this early stage, after having campaigned with such vigour for its creation. I hope they change their minds.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify that participants with full standing will have access to information collected by the inquiry including that presented outside of hearings, but commission counsel will not disclose classified information to the parties, or any information submitted to the commission in confidence.