Former MP Han Dong Settles Lawsuit Launched Against Global News

Han Dong arrives to appear as a witness at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions in Ottawa on April 2, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Former MP Han Dong and Global News say they have settled their lawsuit concerning allegations that Dong was involved with the Chinese consulate in Toronto.

Amid a flurry of intelligence leaks in the media on Beijing interference in Canada in 2023, Global News reported that Dong told the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that the detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor should be extended.

Dong, who was the MP for the Toronto riding of Don Valley North at the time, subsequently left the Liberal Party caucus and sued Global for defamation.

Global “recognizes the findings of the Final Report of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference, including that the classified information reviewed by Justice Marie Josee Hogue corroborates that Mr. Dong did not suggest that the PRC extend the detention” of Kovrig and Spavor, a June 15 statement by the media company says.

Global said it published content based on confidential intelligence sources to report on “matters of significant public interest,” adding that it had explained the allegations were “unproven and subject to different interpretations.”

“Mr. Dong has always denied the accuracy of this intelligence,” Global said.

Dong, who did not seek re-election in April, confirmed in a statement the lawsuit has been settled. “After two long years, finally my family and I can move on,” he said.

Dong sued Global in April 2023, seeking $15 million in damages for libel. His lawyers accused the media firm of publishing “malicious, false, and defamatory articles and broadcasts” about Dong.

Global reported in February 2023 that Dong was among the 11 Toronto-area candidates who had received support from Beijing during the 2019 election.

The network then reported in March 2023 on a February 2021 conversation Dong had with Chinese consul-general Han Tao about the Kovrig and Spavor case. The two had been detained by Beijing after Canada had actioned an extradition warrant request from the U.S. against Huawei executive Meng Wangzhou.

Dong’s lawyer argued that Global had not seen the transcript of the February call and that Dong had always advocated for the release of Kovrig and Spavor when he spoke with Chinese diplomats.

A summary of the call between Dong and Chinese consul-general Han Tao was released to the public during proceedings of the Foreign Interference Commission.

It says that Dong had “expressed the view that even if the PRC released the ‘Two Michaels’ at that moment, opposition parties would view the PRC’s action as an affirmation of the effectiveness of a hardline Canadian approach to the PRC.”

Dong said taking such a “hardline” approach against Beijing would be “detrimental” to relations with China, the summary said.

According to the intel summary, Dong also told the Chinese diplomat that if China could provide transparency on the case of Kovrig and Spavor, that would “help to placate Canadian public opinion and provide some valuable talking points to his own political party against the opposition.”

Dong was at the centre of another controversy closely examined by the Foreign Interference Commission, this time regarding his win of the Liberal nomination contest in Don Valley North in 2019.

A summary of intelligence released by the commission said there were “irregularities in the nomination that may have included activities undertaken by individuals close to PRC Officials,” including by an individual who is a “known proxy agent of PRC Officials.”

The intelligence summary says international students had been bused in to vote for Dong, with some being provided false documents to vote since they were not residents of the riding.

Dong told the commission he knew about the buses but he denied being involved in the irregularities, saying he “would be the first one condemning it.”

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians released a report on foreign interference in June 2024 which also looked at the 2019 Don Valley North Liberal nomination race.

It says that according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the PRC had a “significant impact in getting Han Dong nominated.” The report added that between 175 and 200 international Chinese students had arrived at the nomination vote in several buses.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had been briefed about the irregularities in Don Valley North but decided to keep Dong as the Liberal candidate. When testifying at the Foreign Interference Commission in April 2024, Trudeau said the information he had been provided was not enough for “overturning the result of a democratic event.”

Dong left the Liberal caucus in 2023 following the Global News allegations and sat as an Independent. He later expressed interest in returning to the Liberal caucus but was not allowed back in. He wasn’t the Liberals’ nominee for the Don Valley North riding in the April 28 election.