Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, members of the committee, for giving me the opportunity to tell you my thoughts and analyses, based on over 30 years of work, research, investigations and analyses on the activities of the Chinese intelligence services in Canada. I did that work as a counter-espionage officer, and as a security consultant in the private and academic sectors.
I can today claim openly, with evidence, that CSIS has known about Chinese foreign interference in Canada for at least the last 30 years. Every federal government, from Mr. Mulroney to Mr. Trudeau today, has been compromised by agents of Communist China. Every government was informed at one point or another. Every government chose to ignore CSIS's warnings. Every government was infiltrated by “agents of influence” acting on behalf of the Chinese government.
Every government took decisions that were “questionable” about China and can be explained only by interference exercised from within. Every government let their decision process be manipulated for two main reasons: partisanship, and agents of influence succeeding in controlling the message.
Every prime minister and/or their staff chose to ignore the seriousness of the threat. Not only has the sitting government been compromised, but all political parties have also been compromised at one point or another. The inaction of the federal governments led to attacks on many municipal and provincial governments; ultimately, every government has been part of the problem, not part of the solution, and I will remind you that it is not only China that is practising foreign interference.
Again, we have the evidence, names and circumstances of when all this happened.
The principle of interference is to put temptation in the path of target individuals. That is one of the weaknesses of a democratic system. Chinese agents have understood it very well and proved that they know how to exploit it. It is therefore up to us to finally take concrete measures to strengthen our defences.
In light of these facts, I would like to propose a few possible avenues for consideration.
First, it is essential that the country enact a criminal law against foreign interference that would define the activities considered illegal and provide the penalties that could be incurred.
Second, I welcome the initiative of wanting to create a national office to counter foreign interference. However, it is not appropriate that it be under the authority of the Minister of Public Safety. I have said, and I repeat: all previous and current governments have been part of the problem, not the solution. They have all received warnings and have ignored them. Requiring this body to report to a minister would reproduce the same pattern and would be doomed to failure and exposed to political interference.
The office therefore needs to be independent, separate from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, CSIS, and from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the RCMP, and needs to report directly to the House of Commons, with a director appointed by the House. There needs to be a law that gives the office powers to investigate, search, arrest, and prosecute, without having to request permission from anyone, and to be able to inform the public without politics interfering. As well, a budget of $13.5 million over five years is inadequate. There have to be investigators who can cover all regions of Canada, and to do that, there must be local offices that would work not only for the federal government, but also to assist the provinces and municipalities.
I would add that the $48.9 million over three years promised to the RCMP to protect communities is likely to have little impact in the absence of a national office. As well, neither the RCMP nor CSIS could be the investigative bodies, since their present structure has not enabled them to get governments to act in 30 years. How can we believe that this would change overnight?
Third, establish a mandatory process whereby future election candidates must swear and sign a declaration that they are not under the influence or acting on behalf of a foreign government or entity. This form will clearly warn of possible criminal procedures in case of intentional deception. A similar process must be established for all political staff and volunteers during the hiring process.
Fourth, eliminate the possibility for foreigners to vote for the selection of candidates and nominees. This is an obvious nonsense.
Fifth, prohibit, for a period of three to five years, all leaving cabinet members and senior public servants from working or participating in any activity or job related to their previous functions.
In closing, I would like to make a brief comment about the idea of creating a commission of inquiry.
In my opinion, that is not the right avenue. A public commission will inevitably reveal the investigative methods our security services and thus diminish our effectiveness in detecting and neutralizing the threat, while putting human resources at risk. With the revelations disclosed, we have already helped the Chinese to counter us. There is every reason to believe that in the current political climate, attention will be focused on the timeline of events, trying to lay the guilt at the government's doorstep when its predecessors all did the same thing. It is time to prioritize national security in a non-partisan manner and to protect the future of the country.
Thank you very much.
I'm looking forward to answering your questions.