Top officials were warned that money from Beijing was going to candidates, confirms former Trudeau adviser

A former top security adviser to the prime minister has confirmed the content of media reports in a secret memo that says the Chinese regime has provided money to federal candidates.

Deputy Secretary of State David Morrison said on June 13 that he was the one who commissioned the memo when he acted as National Security and Intelligence Advisor (NSIA) in the summer of 2021.

He told MPs on the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) that he couldn’t give them the intelligence review given the top secret classification, but said much of the content had already been published by Global News.

“A large clandestine transfer of funds earmarked for the federal elections from the People’s Republic of China [People’s Republic of China] The consulate in Toronto was handed over to an elected provincial government official through an associate of a 2019 federal candidate,” said that review reportedly published by the Privy Council Office (PCO) in January 2022 and covered by Global News on March 8.

Global reported that the PCO paper was prepared by the Intelligence Assessment Secretariat and is derived from 100 Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) reports.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and current NSIA Jody Thomas have said on a number of occasions that they have never seen Chinese money go to federal candidates.

Trudeau said last November that he was never told about “federal candidates receiving money from China.”

“We haven’t seen any money go to 11 candidates, period,” Thomas said in December 2022.

Conservative MP Michael Cooper told Morrison he had “admitted what the Prime Minister and this government have repeatedly denied and tried to cover up”.

“Has that PCO memo, that ‘Special Report’ from January 2022, come to the Prime Minister’s attention?” Cooper asked.

Morrison said he left the NSIA role in early January 2022 before the review was completed and therefore could not comment on whether it had been informed to the Prime Minister. Thomas became NSIA that month.

PCO products are normally shared with senior officials and relevant departments.

Officials warned of threats

More details from unspecified national safety instructions published as of January 2022 were reported by Global in November 2022 and addressed issues such as the Chinese regime placing agents in MPs’ offices and planning a campaign against MPs critical of Beijing. The latter refers directly to the Beijing controversy that focuses on MPs like Michael Chong.

Global’s report did not specify whether any of the instructions were prepared by PCO.

“Intelligence also alleges that in the aftermath of the House of Representatives vote, Chinese intelligence agents conducted in-depth background checks on MPs who voted in favor of the resolution finding China guilty of genocide.” wrote Global.

This refers to the motion filed by Chong in February 2021 regarding the treatment of Uyghurs by the Chinese regime.

That information had first been reported by CSIS, first through a management letter sent to the Department of Public Security in May 2021 and then through an intelligence review released to relevant departments in the summer of 2021.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Emergency Relief Minister Bill Blair, who was also minister of public security at the time, have both said they were never made aware of any threats against MPs.

Morrison told MPs that he had received the CSIS assessment in his NSIA role on 17 August 2021, but decided it was not warranted to inform the Prime Minister. But he said he thought it was interesting enough to have the memo made on the same subject.

Blair first blamed CSIS and a lack of access to a secure communications terminal for not knowing about the case.

After CSIS director David Vigneault testified before the committee on June 13 and said the issue had been properly brought to public safety attention through an electronically sent message, Blair told reporters on June 14 that the CSIS message was sent to “another office”.

“Frankly, if they intended me to actually have that information, I would expect them to inform me about it,” he said.