Articles by Tom Blackwell

Jul 10 2023 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — Two prominent community groups aligned with the Chinese government supplied numerous volunteers to the effort, a letter from one of the groups claims As Olivia Chow campaigned successfully to become Toronto’s new mayor, she received some unsolicited help from controversial sources. Two prominent community groups aligned with the Chinese government — including one that allegedly […]

May 29 2023 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — A former Ontario cabinet minister who has been the focus of intelligence leaks related to Chinese interference in Canada is suing CSIS, saying the spy agency publicly humiliated him because of a “stereotypical typecasting of immigrants born in China as being somehow untrustworthy.”

May 15 2023 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — A Chow supporter says such meetings are a ‘necessary evil’ to reach Toronto’s mainland-China immigrants and cautions ‘not to jump into any conclusion.’ Olivia Chow has generally not been a close friend of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The veteran NDP politician has in the past organized events defending democracy activists in Hong Kong, was […]

Apr 21 2023 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — A member of the Ontario legislature is taking the rare step of asking the public to help fund his planned lawsuit against a TV network that accused him of helping the Chinese government interfere in a Canadian election. Global News’s story about Vincent Ke resulted in “wanton smearing” of the whole Chinese-Canadian community and the […]

Mar 27 2023 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — Pierre Poilievre’s venture into the Greater Toronto Area’s Chinese community in January was in some ways a standard bit of politicking. He broke bread with community leaders, answered questions from Chinese-language news media and even said a few words in Chinese, an unremarkable outreach to an important block of ethnic voters. More notable were some […]

Mar 8 2023 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — Some have questioned whether the RCMP is up to the task — or the government is committed to seeing through the potentially embarrassing case. The RCMP says it’s still investigating two scientists ejected from Canada’s top infectious disease lab almost four years ago, sparking debate about whether the force is up to the task — […]

Feb 8 2023 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — It happens every day: someone on Twitter gets fed up with criticism or abuse from another user of the social media platform and blocks the person from their feed. But what if the Twitter account belongs to a federal cabinet minister, and jamming the other individual essentially cuts off access to a form of government […]

Nov 25 2022 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — On the face of it, the fledgling organization’s goals seem innocuous enough — to encourage Chinese-Canadians to run for elected office and vote in elections. The Chinese Council for Western Ontario Elections says it wants to be an “incubator” for candidates who support the community’s interests and educate newcomers about Canadian democracy. But the council’s […]

Oct 21 2022 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — ‘I think the $9 million we charged was value for money. (The team) never missed a deadline and they completed all their tasks and deliverables.’ The two partners of an Ottawa firm that was the largest single contractor on the federal government’s controversial ArriveCan app say they personally earned between $1.3 million and $2.7 million […]

Sep 12 2022 — Tom Blackwell — National Newswatch — Pierre Poilievre was an MP and former cabinet minister, Anaida Galindo a well-liked parliamentary aide. They met and fell in love on the Hill. When the couple married in 2017, the wedding might well have been a full-on political affair, its guest list packed with legislators and backroom operatives. In fact, just two people showed […]

Jul 26 2022 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — One of the top RCMP commanders handling Nova Scotia’s 2020 shooting rampage says he was “very concerned” that there might be political or other interference in the investigation of the case. A day after the force’s commissioner Brenda Lucki said there was no political meddling, Chief Supt. Darren Campbell told the inquiry into the killings […]

Jul 22 2022 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — The flight of China’s ‘golden geese’ could be an economic boon for the countries where they land and Canada is among the mix of possible destinations. When a Chinese-Canadian billionaire faced a closed-door trial last month, four years after being snatched from Hong Kong, the event did not go unnoticed among China’s wealthy entrepreneurs.

Jun 10 2022 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — After their party lost another federal election last year, the Chinese Canadian Conservative Association (CCCA) made some striking comments about the Tory platform — and Canada’s relations with Beijing. Spokesman Joe Li said the Conservative push for a tougher stance on China had alienated voters of Chinese descent and cost the party three ridings.

May 31 2022 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — Another major piece of Ottawa’s military aid to Ukraine has arrived in the country. Whether it’s what the beleaguered nation’s armed forces most need from Canada — or nearly enough of a contribution — is another question, experts say. The Ukrainian army has taken possession of eight new “Senator” armoured personnel carriers the federal government […]

Mar 30 2022 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — As a back-room organizer in the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, Snover Dhillon was a lightning rod for controversy. Already convicted of fraud for unrelated matters, he was accused in the run-up to the last provincial election of crossing ethical lines in his work helping would-be Conservative candidates win nominations. The party’s new leadership made it […]