MPs to question officials on foreign meddling

OTTAWA - Members of a House of Commons committee plan to question federal security officials this afternoon about foreign meddling in Canada's affairs amid simmering allegations of interference in recent elections.

Appearing at the committee on procedure and House affairs are national security adviser Jody Thomas and members of a standing task force that provides government officials with information about possible threats to federal election processes.

The Liberal government has come under pressure in recent weeks to explain what Canada is doing about accusations of Chinese meddling in the last two federal elections following leaks to the media from security sources.

On Tuesday, a report evaluating the protocol for monitoring the most recent general election said the federal government should explore lowering the threshold for when to notify Canadians about potential interference in a campaign.

The independent report by former public servant Morris Rosenberg nonetheless found that the protocol designed to advise Canadians in the event of threats to the 2021 federal election worked well overall.

But he made several recommendations on better informing Canadians about what the panel would consider cause for concern.

He also urged further study into whether to lower the bar for telling Canadians about potential threats.

China's embassy in Ottawa has rebuffed accusations of attempted election interference in Canada, saying they are "baseless and defamatory" and harm diplomatic relations.

"China has always been firmly against any attempts to interfere in other countries' domestic affairs," said a statement the embassy emailed to The Canadian Press.

"We are not interested in meddling with Canada's internal affairs, nor have we ever tried to do so."

The embassy says all its consulates follow the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which includes "a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of the state" where diplomats reside.

The embassy also says it has bilateral agreements with Canada that hold diplomats to behaving "in an open and above-reproach manner" in each other's country.

In the statement, the embassy accused some Canadian agencies, as well as media outlets, of creating and spreading "disinformation" about China and "poisoning the media atmosphere" about the country.

It urged everyone to "stop stigmatizing Chinese consulates and personnel that performed their normal duties."