Former Ontario minister sues CSIS, unidentified leakers, reporters

A former Ontario cabinet minister is suing the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and unidentified employees who he alleges leaked classified information with the intent of harming his reputation.

Michael Chan has alleged the anonymous employees' actions were influenced by "a stereotypical type-casting of immigrants born in China as being somehow untrustworthy."

Chan, a former cabinet minister in the former Ontario Liberal government and now a deputy mayor in Markham, Ont., is also suing the Crown, the attorney general of Canada, the CSIS director and two journalists who have written stories on Chan based on leaked classified information.

The journalists include Global News reporter Sam Cooper. The media outlet defended his work.

"Global News spoke with highly qualified sources on multiple occasions and made painstaking efforts to verify the information prepared by senior intelligence officials, many of whom have spent decades investigating security threats to Canada," said a spokesperson for Global News.

"Our sources risked their careers and livelihoods to warn Canadians about the extent to which the People's Republic of China was interfering in Canada's democratic processes and government institutions. We believe in the integrity of our journalism in all the reporting in this series, and the critical role it plays in seeking accountability and transparency on issues vital to the public interest."

Chan said the stories inaccurately implicated him in allegations of election interference and he is seeking a total of $10 million in damages.

No statements of defence have yet been filed.

The claims have not been proven in court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023.