Politics This Morning: Jody Thomas takes the stage

Good Wednesday morning, A Canadian minister is abroad today. Many others are holding public cheque presentations. But there’s no doubt that the top item on today’s agenda is the Procedure and House Affairs Committee’s meeting on foreign election interference. JODY THOMAS, the prime minister’s national security advisor, is one of the witnesses scheduled to take questions from the committee today. Thomas is a non-partisan public servant working in the Privy Council Office. Her last job was running the Defence Department. Her career has revolved around security or security-adjacent senior posts, including stints in charge of the Coast Guard and overseeing passport security. She hasn’t worked in one of Canada’s intelligence agencies, however, the presumed source of leaks to journalists SAM COOPER, BOB FIFE, and STEVEN CHASE, who have reported on details of the Chinese government’s efforts to help Liberal candidates get elected, and the extent to which the prime minister and Liberal Party officials knew about it. The committee will also have a chance to question SHAWN TUPPER, the deputy minister of the Public Safety Department, and CINDY TERMORSHUIZEN, an associate deputy minister at Global Affairs. Termorshuizen spent three years working in the foreign ministry’s “greater China division,” another three years as deputy head of mission in Beijing, and two years as director general in charge of international security policy. The meeting begins at 3 p.m., and you can view it here. The committee will get a second hour to grill members of the “security and intelligence threats to elections task force.” That entity was formed in 2019 “in response to greater awareness of the threat of foreign interference by hostile state actors during democratic processes,” according to Canada’s intelligence agency. The task force includes a collection of senior officials from different government bodies with a hand in security of foreign affairs. Liberal MP Bardish Chagger chairs the Procedure and House Affairs Committee. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Members of the task force who are scheduled to testify today include officials from CSIS, Global Affairs, the RCMP, and the CSE. The committee members will have some fresh material to work with, one way or another, as they craft their questions for the meeting. Yesterday, another panel of senior civil servants assembled to monitor foreign election interference released its report. Full disclosure: the report made reference to a Hill Times article from Sept. 2021, which quoted a former advisor to ex-foreign minister STÉPHANE DION who argued that the Conservative Party’s stance on China was too severe. That quote was later used as fodder by a propaganda outlet for the Chinese government. The Critical Election Incident Public Protocol, which issued the report, is led by MORRIS ROSENBERG, a veteran former public servant who also, somewhat awkwardly, led the charitable foundation named after PIERRE TRUDEAU, which has been on the receiving end of a fair bit of cash that probably came from the Chinese government. House bans TikTok The House of Commons has followed the government’s lead, and banned TikTok from “House-managed” mobile devices, according to an announcement from Speaker ANTHONY ROTA. The House provides mobile phones to both Members of Parliament and Commons staff. Like other forms of social media, TikTok collects a wide range of personal information from its users. TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, and the security concerns about the app are rooted in the idea that the Chinese government can compel co-operation from China’s private sector if and when it deems necessary. Mendicino expands list of offences eligible for expungement Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO has moved to expand the list of “historically-unjust” convictions that can be “expunged,” or wiped from one's criminal record. Mendicino and the cabinet issued a pair of Orders in Council to that effect on Feb. 16. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has expanded the list of 'historically unjust' convictions for which Canadians can seek an expungement. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade The offences added to the list include some that were often imposed on gay men caught in bathhouse raids—for example, keeping a “bawdy house” or “acts of indecency”—and offences related to helping someone have an abortion. In the 1980s, Toronto police raided bathhouses and charged nearly 300 men with offences. Calgary police conducted a similar, smaller raid as recently as 2002. Individuals who have been convicted of offences under the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act can apply to the Parole Board of Canada to have their conviction removed from their criminal record. What’s the cabinet up to? Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY is in Delhi, India today for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers. The priority issues up for discussion in those meetings, according to Global Affairs, range from food and energy security to disaster relief and “effective multilateralism.” Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS and Seniors Minister KAMAL KHERA are making what is being billed as “an important announcement on the recent publication of national standards on long-term care” in Mississauga, Ont. today. The CBC’s KARINA ROMAN covered the release of those standards—which are voluntary—late last month. PASCALE ST-ONGE, the minister for the Quebec subsidy agency, is touring a plastics plant in Bromot, Que. Agriculture Minister MARIE-CLAUDE BIBEAU is touring the facilities of St. Catherines, Ont.-based Clean Works Corporation, which uses ozone, UV light, and vapourized hydrogen peroxide to clean vegetables in the food supply chain. The usual menagerie of ministers is on the golf cheque circuit today. DAN VANDAL, the minister responsible for PrairiesCan, is making an infrastructure announcement in Winnipeg. Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON is making an announcement about electric vehicle infrastructure in Sudbury, Ont. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT is announcing cash for “nature-based solutions and freshwater protection projects” in Toronto. Rural Minister GUDIE HUTCHINGS and Tourism Minister RANDY BOISSONNAULT continue their tour of Newfoundland today with a funding announcement at the Gander International Airport. FILOMENA TASSI, the minister of subsidies for Southern Ontario, will announce cash for Ontario manufacturers in Woodbridge, Ont. Finally, Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ will announce funding for a cultural centre in Lac-Saint-Jean, Que. today. In the news NEIL MOSS sat down for an interview with Russian Ambassador OLEG STEPANOV, who was quick to bring up nuclear weapons. Moss also explored the level of support for a private member’s bill that aims to build a bigger fence around Canada’s supply management system. STUART BENSON dove into the mechanics of closing Roxham Road. Benson also spoke to Green Party Co-Leader ELIZABETH MAY about some rather unflattering polls for her party. JONAH GRIGNON has a feature on the woman who serves as barber to MPs and Supreme Court justices alike. Finally, LAURA RYCKEWAERT has an interview with Canada’s newest poet laureate, MARIE-CÉLIE AGNANT. What else is happening today? NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is holding a “meet and greet” with NDP supporters in Penticton, B.C. this evening. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is attending a grip-and-grin event in B.C. today. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade In case you missed it Any business that wants to be a “major” vendor for the federal government will now have to disclose its greenhouse gas emissions, and its plan to reduce them, under procurement standards announced yesterday by Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER and Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT. Send your news tips to pmazereeuw@hilltimes.com