Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a package of measures on Monday, including the appointment of an independent special rapporteur, to shed light on allegations of Chinese interference in the last two federal elections, AFP reported.

That speaker, who will be appointed in the coming days, will be tasked with “formulating expert recommendations to protect our democracy,” Justin Trudeau said, adding that he has also appointed two commissions to investigate foreign interference.

The announcement comes after days of opposition parties calling for an independent public inquiry into the matter.

One of the special rapporteur’s primary tasks will be to advise the government on next steps, including a possible public inquiry.

“Whether it’s an investigation or a judicial review, we will follow his recommendations,” Prime Minister Trudeau said, calling the attempted intervention “disturbing” and “serious.”

At the same time, the Prime Minister of Canada instructed deputies and senators from the Commission on National Security and Intelligence to start a new specialized investigation into foreign interference in the elections. The commission already presented a report on the issue in 2019, calling on the government to do more.

Meanwhile, Canada’s intelligence service was called in to examine how national security agencies handled the threat of foreign interference in the election.

“Any attack or attempted attack on our democracy is unacceptable,” Justin Trudeau said, noting that “the Chinese government and other regimes like Iran and Russia have tried to interfere not only in our democracy, but in our country as a whole “. “This problem is not new,” he added.

In recent weeks, a series of stories have leaked to the Canadian media detailing Beijing’s alleged attempts to interfere in the last two federal elections. In particular, it is about secret financing or involvement in the campaign of certain candidates during the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

These accusations were categorically condemned by the Chinese authorities, who qualified them as “slander”.

Last week, an independent report found that there had been attempts to interfere, but that they did not affect the outcome of the election.

Also on Monday, federal police announced they had opened an investigation into how the information was leaked to the Canadian media. (Agerpress)