Katie Telford, Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, leaves after a meeting of the Liberal Caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. The federal Conservatives are trying to force Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's top aide to answer questions about allegations the Chinese government interfered in Canada's last two federal elections. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA – The federal Conservatives are trying to force Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s top aide to answer questions about allegations the Chinese government interfered in Canada’s last two federal elections.
The Liberals have been filibustering a House of Commons committee since early March to prevent a vote on a Conservative motion calling for Katie Telford to appear.
So today, the Conservatives are bringing a similar motion to the entire House.
Alberta MP Michael Cooper says Telford is a “critical witness” to understand what Trudeau knew about allegations Beijing was trying to influence the outcome in some ridings in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
The motion calls for more than a dozen witnesses to appear after Telford, including several cabinet ministers, the current and former ambassadors to China and authors of reports that examined foreign interference in 2019 and 2021.
The director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said earlier this month the elections were not compromised.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2023.
