Thank you, Madam Chair.
Minister, when you last appeared before this committee on June 1, you made the incredible assertion, with regard to the May 2021 CSIS issues management note that warned that MP Michael Chong and his family in Hong Kong were being targeted by the Beijing regime, including by an accredited diplomat at Beijing's Toronto consulate, that “CSIS, quite appropriately, made a determination that they didn't believe it was necessary to pass that information along”, which you characterized as “an operational decision”.
Your testimony, Minister, is directly contradicted by the director of CSIS, David Vigneault, who on June 13 told this committee that no such operational decision had been made, that the issues management note, distinct from other intelligence memos, pertains to a matter of high importance and that, in regard to you, Minister, “I think the fact that we did an issue management note speaks to the notion that we wanted to highlight the information.”
Through you, Madam Chair, Minister, can you explain why your testimony was flatly contradicted by the director of CSIS?