Jody Thomas, National Security and Intelligence Advisor waits to appear as a witness at the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) regarding foreign election interference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. A parliamentary committee says it continues to wait for answers on when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was briefed about Beijing's interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
OTTAWA – Members of a parliamentary committee say they continue to wait for information about when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was briefed about Beijing’s alleged interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
MPs from the procedure and House affairs committee have sent a letter to Canada’s top civil servant, the clerk of the Privy Council, following up on their previous request for answers.
The letter obtained by The Canadian Press was signed by Conservative, Bloc Québécois and New Democrat MPs.
Jody Thomas, the prime minister’s national security adviser, told the committee early last month that she would disclose the dates when Trudeau received intelligence briefings about alleged meddling in Canadian elections.
But the letter’s signatories say no such information has been provided, and they are accusing officials of a deliberate effort to obstruct the committee’s study of foreign interference.
They say they would like to receive the information prior to the upcoming testimony of the prime minister’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, who is slated to appear before the committee sometime next week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2023.
