Some federal parties resisting foreign interference probe looking beyond China: Singh

OTTAWA -

New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party faces resistance to including countries other than China in the terms of reference for a public inquiry on foreign interference.

House leaders from the main federal parties have been meeting over the summer in an attempt to set the terms and timeline for an inquiry and to appoint a potential leader.

The talks follow media reports earlier this year that alleged China tried to interfere in the last two federal elections, although parties agree it did not affect the outcome of the elections.

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Singh says the NDP is pushing to have the probe look into meddling attempts by additional countries such as Russia, India and Iran.

He says community groups have raised serious allegations about those countries, claiming they are experiencing foreign interference.

Singh says other parties have not been clear about their stances on whether the inquiry should look beyond China, adding some parties have resisted including the other three countries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2023.