That’s because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is “involved and interested in advancing its own national interests” in Canada, said Michelle Tessier, deputy director of operations for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) at the process and affairs committee. of Parliament on Tuesday. . “It’s a factor of foreign interference and we’ve said that publicly … that we’re concerned about activities involving threats to Canada’s security, including foreign interference from the Chinese Communist Party,” Tessier told MPs.

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			RCMP investigates Chinese ‘police’ units in Canada.  Here’s what you need to know

For example, the CSIS official said that China and other countries — though Tessier did not specify which ones — are trying to target elected officials at “all levels of government” in order to advance China’s national interests. Story continues below ad China is also trying to encourage people to “speak or act” as “proxies on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party,” he added. “So that remains a concern for us, in terms of their influence activities and how they try to manipulate certain … individuals to work in their interests against Canada’s national interest,” Tessier said. China tends to use “a range of techniques” to pursue that goal, Tessier added — including threats to Chinese communities here in Canada. The CCP has been accused of establishing “police” departments around the world, including in Canada. The RCMP confirmed they are investigating the allegation. 1:54 USA indicts 2 alleged Chinese spies over Huawei Prosecution interference: Garland; A group called Safeguard Defenders, a pan-Asian human rights organization based in Spain, has claimed that there are 54 Chinese “police” departments operating around the world — three of which they believe have been set up in the greater Toronto area, Canada. Story continues below ad Safeguard Defenders reported China’s claims that its police forces “convinced” 230,000 people living abroad to “voluntarily” return to China to face possible criminal charges. In addition to this claim, CSIS is concerned about “the use of the media by many of the hostile state actors, including China.” Current trend

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“All available media outlets could be exploited, I suppose, by hostile state actors. So all kinds of media are certainly vulnerable to exploitation,” Tessier said. Another technique hostile foreign actors have developed is to leverage existing wedges elsewhere around the world — and drive them deeper, according to the CSIS official. “That’s very much one of the vehicles used is, for example, to try to find a divisive issue in society and amplify it in one way or another,” Tessier said. “What we saw, certainly during COVID, was an interest from hostile state actors to try to spread disinformation.”

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Overall, Tessier said it’s a worrying trend. “I would say we are getting more and more worried. I think we saw, as mentioned earlier, the laws passed by the Chinese Communist Party that make it mandatory for everyone in China, including the private sector, to work for the government,” Tessier said. Story continues below ad “So I think we’re seeing increasing authoritarianism, if I may allow myself to say that word, in terms of the strategy of the Chinese Communist Party in this matter.”

			Multiple allegations of foreign influence were filed in the last election

Allegations of foreign interference in Canada’s elections also rose slightly in 2021, the panel said Tuesday. That said, the complaints are just allegations — and in “many cases they don’t fall within the prohibited conduct of the (Elections Canada) Act,” according to Marc Chénier, Canada’s deputy election commissioner. “For the 43rd general election there were 10 allegations of some element that could be foreign interference, and for the last general election it was 13,” he told the House Committee on Procedure and Affairs on Tuesday. “Often we can’t do anything about the complaint.” Story continues below ad 2:08 Canada’s former ambassador to China says it “should be easy” for Ottawa to identify Beijing as a strategic rival Elections Canada chief Stéphane Perrault confirmed there has been “no breach” of Elections Canada’s IT infrastructure. “I know that for a fact,” he said. While Elections Canada faces cyberattacks “every day,” Perrault said the agency has “no mechanism to know whether they’re foreign or domestic.” “But we’ve had no breach and we’ve had no interference with our operations,” he said. “That’s not to say there isn’t foreign interest in Canadian elections and political debates and political outcomes.” — with files from Global News’ Heidi Lee © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.