Canada-China Relations committee  Unfortunately, yes, it was. The level of understanding of the China file, specifically, is quite poor across the Canadian government, even within CSIS at times. Unfortunately, the threat is not properly recognized or understood. The Chinese operate and think differently. Their o

Canada-China Relations committee  I think it's about time we called a cat a cat and a dog a dog. Probably in modern history China represents, for Canada, the most formidable opponent and threat to our democracy, to our economy, and to our Canadian citizens of Chinese descent or from other origins. The Chinese g

Canada-China Relations committee  We definitely need to share information. We need to receive the briefings from our experts who are following the situation and they need to be allowed to share more information. There's a certain control, and probably an old Anglo-Saxon reflex of having a stiff upper lip and not

Canada-China Relations committee  Oh, yes.

Canada-China Relations committee  No, it's not necessarily a change in the legislation but a change in the leadership and the stewardship. They need to be capable of accepting that one day they might have to testify.

Canada-China Relations committee  Yes. Before I go, I would like to support what Ms. Brady has said. Exactly as she described, we observed it from the Chinese government right here in Canada in previous elections as well. As for prosecution and the problem of investigating, first, it has increased. We see much m

Canada-China Relations committee  Yes.

Canada-China Relations committee  Many companies were created, especially in the 1990s, before Hong Kong's handover to mainland China in 1997. Many of them were front companies that came here to gather information. They expressed a desire to work with Canadian companies, but once they had obtained the information

Canada-China Relations committee  I totally agree that we are in a disbalanced situation. We are not fighting equally. One of the reasons for this situation is that we must return to the ballot every five years, while there is a perennity with the Chinese government. They know that they don't have to change thei

Canada-China Relations committee  They are very poorly informed by the national security agencies. Unfortunately, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has had a policy for a number of years of providing as little information as possible to Canadian companies. This is our biggest failing. It is our

Canada-China Relations committee  I think he is absolutely right to be concerned. In the mid-1990s, my unit published a report on project Sidewinder; we examined the influence exerted by Chinese companies, specifically through diplomatic channels. For instance, Elections Canada reporting revealed that the Chinese

Canada-China Relations committee  The RCMP does not necessarily have the resources and expertise required when it comes to the various influence- and harassment-based activities China engages in. Bear in mind that suppressing dissent, especially controlling what is said outside the country, is of capital importan

Canada-China Relations committee  It is an honour and a pleasure to be here.

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. My thanks also go to all the members of the committee. Thank you very much. I will try to present in both official languages, which is very much the Canadian way, I suspect. My apologies also to the team of translators. Unfortunately I had diffi