I call this meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 74 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
Today’s meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of June 23, 2022, and therefore, members can attend in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application. Should any technical challenges arise, please advise me immediately. Please note that we may need to suspend a few minutes as we need to ensure that all members are able to participate fully.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h) and the motion adopted by the committee on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, the committee is resuming its study of foreign interference and threats to the integrity of democratic institutions, intellectual property and the Canadian state. In accordance with the committee’s routine motion concerning connection tests for witnesses, I am informing the committee that all witnesses have completed the required connection tests in advance of the meeting.
I would now like to welcome our witnesses for the first hour today. We have, as individuals, Dean Baxendale, chief executive officer, China Democracy Foundation and of Optimum Publishing International, Thomas Juneau, associate professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, and, by video conference, Andrew Mitrovica, investigative reporter.
Mr. Baxendale, the floor is yours for a five-minute opening statement.