Spy agency warns Canadian MP that she’s on Beijing's ‘evergreen’ target list
Vancouver lawmaker says that she will not be silenced or intimidated.
OTTAWA — A Hong Kong-born lawmaker says Canada’s top spy agency warned her that Beijing has her marked as an “evergreen” political target due to her activism.
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan told reporters Monday the Canadian Security Intelligence Service told her last week during a classified briefing that she’s a target for foreign interference by the Chinese government “and will continue to be a target.”
Kwan’s disclosure is the latest development in a thorny foreign interference controversy that’s been fueled by months of intelligence leaks.
The leaks have launched a third-party investigation, revealing “serious shortcomings” in how security agencies and government handle sensitive intelligence. The Vancouver MP declined to provide additional details about the nature of the threat, citing national security concerns.
Kwan, instead, doubled down on her advocacy, saying she will not be intimidated or silenced about Hong Kong. She is the second Canadian lawmaker to go public about being targeted by China.
“To see the situation unravel as it has, and continues to, breaks my heart,” she said, adding she feels relief knowing she doesn’t have family members living in Hong Kong or China.
The security threat isn’t immediate.
“While I cannot share classified information from my briefing with CSIS, it is clear that there is no indication of any physical threat against me or my family,” she told POLITICO in an email.
Kwan pushed for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call a national inquiry into foreign meddling by the Chinese government, despite an independent investigator’s recent advice that one would not be possible given the sensitivity of tradecraft.
Parliamentarians returned to Parliament Hill this week for one last four-week stretch before the House and Senate adjourn for summer.
Political fireworks are expected as opposition parties continue to cast the independent investigation, led by former governor general David Johnston, as evidence of cronyism given his ties with the Trudeau family.
New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said he plans to introduce a non-binding motion Tuesday to urge Johnston to resign from his role as government-appointed investigator into foreign interference.
“The appearance of bias is so high that it erodes the work that the special rapporteur can do,” he said, promoting a public airing of secrets as one way to “reinstill confidence in our electoral system.”