Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, released the following statement on the announcement of a public inquiry into Beijing’s interference with Canadian democracy:
“Beijing’s ‘basic dictatorship’ – for which Justin Trudeau expressed admiration – has been trying to undermine Canadian democracy for years. As more and more reporting on this came to light, the Liberals attempted to hide and cover up the truth about Beijing’s interference. But today, our demand for a public inquiry into this interference has finally been met.
“None of this would have happened had Conservatives not pushed the government and fought the attempted Liberal coverup every step of the way. Conservatives have been demanding a public inquiry into Beijing’s interference since March 1st, 2023 – 190 days ago. On March 23rd, 2023, Conservatives voted to pass a motion in the House of Commons calling for an independent and public inquiry. Much damage to Canadians’ faith in their institutions could have been avoided if only Justin Trudeau had listened to Parliament then.
“Justin Trudeau has known for years about these risks to democracy. According to his own officials, since 2018, he was formally briefed at least 6 times on foreign interference, along with numerous informal conversations, yet he has refused to take any meaningful action. In fact, Trudeau still hasn’t kept his promise to implement a foreign influence registry – a common-sense solution that Conservatives have repeatedly called for.
“Conservatives will continue to stand up for Canadian democracy while holding the Trudeau Liberals accountable for their negligence. We called out the Liberals’ last plan to sweep this issue under the rug. And while we accept the terms of reference and Commissioner for this inquiry, we will not hesitate to call them out again if this process doesn’t deliver real answers for Canadians.”
“Protecting our democracy must be our first priority, and Conservatives will always stand up for Canada.”