Michael Chan threatens legal action over Globe report that CSIS investigated his ties to China-What is he hiding?

Michael Chan threatens legal action over Globe report that CSIS investigated his ties to China-What is he hiding?

Published Monday, June 22, 2015

National Post

Ontario cabinet minister Michael Chan is threatening legal action against the Globe and Mail over articles that said the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was investigating him.

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Last week, the Globe reported that CSIS told the Ontario government in 2010 that it was concerned about Chan’s ties with China and feared he was susceptible to influence by the Chinese government.

On Monday, Chan demanded the Globe retract the story and threatened to “pursue all legal remedies to restore my reputation that has been damaged by this deeply offensive personal attack.”

Premier Kathleen Wynne has defended Chan, her minister of citizenship, immigration and international trade, after the report, saying the CSIS concerns were deemed baseless when they were first raised.

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In 2010, the provincial integrity commissioner looked into the CSIS claims and found that Chan’s interactions with China’s consular-general in Toronto were part of his job, according to the Globe report.

Chan called the Globe’s investigation “little more than a re-hash of ludicrous allegations published ­ and debunked five years ago.”

Chan’s comment refers to the 2010 controversy surrounding then-CSIS director Richard Fadden’s public remarks that two unnamed provincial politicians were under foreign influence.

Globe editor-in-chief David Walmsley says the paper will not retract the story.[good for him]

“To suggest the Globe’s articles reveal nothing new is false,” Walmsley said in an emailed statement Monday.

“This work revealed significant new pieces of information, including the fact CSIS visited the Ontario government and expressed concerns about Mr. Chan — something that had never been previously disclosed. We stand by the stories and intend to publish further material.”

With files from The Canadian Press

Michael Chan’s full statement:

I have a statement to make about the recent Globe and Mail articles. I will not be taking any questions today.

Last week the Globe published articles that repeat five-year-old, unfounded suggestions about me.

The articles ran on the front page and are little more than a re-hash of ludicrous allegations published and debunked ­ five years ago. In fact, in 2010 the Globe & Mail properly called the suggestions reckless, foolish and contradictory.

The Globe’s articles revealed no new material facts ­ despite their claim that they were a result on a 10-month investigation.

It is impossible to imagine a more serious attack on me and my family. Let me say again that the insinuations and allegations made by the Globe and Mail are false and have caused serious damage to my reputation, to me, and to my family.

I am calling on the Globe and Mail today to immediately stop, to the extent possible, the ongoing harm that is being done to me and my family by publishing a retraction and an apology in a place of comparable prominence to the initial publications.

I will pursue all legal remedies to restore my reputation that has been damaged by this deeply offensive personal attack.