Katie Telford, chief of staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, departs after appearing as a witness before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, studying foreign election interference, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Friday, April 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA – The national director of the Liberal Party of Canada says it has not “turned a blind eye” to allegations of foreign meddling in the country’s elections.
Azam Ishmael is among the witnesses appearing today before the House of Commons procedure committee that is probing the issue of foreign interference.
Pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government has steadily ramped up amid a string of media reports that alleged, citing anonymous sources, that Beijing tried to influence the outcome of the past two federal elections.
Ishmael, the Liberals’ national director and the person who oversaw the party’s 2021 campaign, says the party did not ignore such concerns but he is limited on what he can say about information provided to him via national security briefings.
The Conservative party’s national campaign manager in 2021, Fred DeLorey, is also set to testify today along with Hamish Marshall, who held the same role in 2019.
The committee recently heard from Trudeau’s longtime chief of staff, Katie Telford, who repeatedly told MPs that national security provisions prevented her from divulging details about briefings on interference.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2023.
