O'Toole says CSIS told him he was focus of Chinese misinformation, suppression effort
CTV
Conservative MP Erin O'Toole says Canada's spy agency has told him he was the target of Chinese interference intended to to discredit him and promote false narratives about his policies while party leader.
Conservative MP Erin O'Toole says Canada's spy agency has told him he was the target of Chinese interference intended to discredit him and promote false narratives about his policies while party leader.
Rising in the House of Commons on a question of privilege Tuesday, O'Toole said the Canadian Security Intelligence Service briefing revealed a range of actions against him.
They included Chinese Communist Party funding to create misinformation, the use of groups and the WeChat social media platform to amplify the mistruths and a campaign of voter suppression against him during the 2021 general election, he said.
The former Conservative leader said the threats against him and members of his caucus were not flagged to him by the government or security agencies at the time.
They were also not communicated to the Conservatives through the federal task force intended to help safeguard the integrity of the 2021 election, he added.
O'Toole said the Liberal government's inaction amounted to a violation of his privileges as an MP and leader of the Opposition.
"The briefing from CSIS confirmed to me what I suspected for quite some time, that my parliamentary caucus and myself were the target of a sophisticated misinformation and voter suppression campaign orchestrated by the People's Republic of China before and during the 2021 general election."
