March 10, 2023, Ottawa: Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly raised the prospect Thursday of risk to Canadian diplomats and citizens in China should her government move too quickly to censure Chinese diplomats here for meddling in domestic affairs.
But Joly noted her department did deny a diplomatic visa to a Chinese official last fall, and it confirmed “diplomatic representations” were made with China’s ambassador to Canada on Feb. 24 — a meeting held as examples began piling up of how China allegedly attempted to insert itself into Canada’s political process.
Her revelations did little, however, to temper the ongoing demands from opposition MPs that the government be far more aggressive and forthcoming about how it is approaching the overall issue of foreign governments seeking influence within Canada.
The latest development on that front was confirmation by the RCMP it is investigating allegations of two more secret police stations operated by Chinese authorities, this time in Quebec. The Spanish human rights organization Safeguard Defenders said in a report last year there were Chinese police operations around the world, including three in Toronto.
It later identified two more, including one in Vancouver and a second unknown Canadian location. The stations reportedly intimidate Chinese citizens and force them to return to China to face prosecution for crimes. The RCMP told a Commons committee last week it had successfully disrupted several such operations, but news of more investigations added another line of questioning for Conservatives as they continue to press the government.
Joly’s comments came at the House of Commons committee continuing its marathon study of foreign state interference, a parliamentary endeavour that’s been tied up in partisan knots for days over who ought to testify.
The Liberals have been filibustering efforts by the opposition to get Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff to the table, among others. It’s all linked to pressure on the government to share what it knew, and when, about foreign interference in the last two Canadian elections, but also what exactly it’s done to thwart those efforts, especially as leaks from national security bodies continue to drip more details into the public domain.
Although some examples directly implicate Chinese consular officials, no diplomats have been expelled from Canada, a fact the Conservatives have seized upon as evidence of a lack of urgency to address the problem by the Liberal government.
Joly pushed back hard against that line of attack on Thursday, noting she made it clear to her Chinese counterpart just last week that Canada won’t tolerate any meddling. Joly also told MPs her department denied a Chinese official a diplomatic visa to come to Canada over concerns about their intentions once here, and that the government is not averse to harsher action if it is proved necessary. “If we have any form of clear evidence of any wrongdoing, we will send diplomats packing very, very, very quickly,” she said.
The international treaty that governs diplomatic relations states that diplomats can be expelled without the state needing to give a reason. But, Joly stressed, there are concerns about reciprocity and what would happen to Canadians now in China if Ottawa were to act. “We saw this play out with the two Michaels,” she noted.
Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained by Chinese officials for almost three years in what was seen as a retaliatory move after Canada arrested Chinese businesswoman Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States in 2018.
“Every time we make a decision about diplomats here on Canadian soil, that has a bearing on our diplomats in China, (and) we need eyes and ears in China,” Joly said. For its part, China has denied the allegations. The country’s foreign ministry spokesperson told a briefing this week that China has “no interest in and will not interfere” in Canada’s affairs.
“It’s absurd that some in Canada are making an issue about China based on disinformation and lies,” Mao Ning said. Some of the examples alleged to have made their way to Trudeau’s desk he has not confirmed which reports he read were raised via a report produced by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), elements of which were reported by Global News.
The committee is made up of senators and MPs who have top-secret security clearance to review classified information.
Though the RCMP has confirmed it is investigating alleged leaks of documents from other national security agencies in connection to recent media reports, it is unclear if NSICOP is under similar scrutiny. The committee had no comment when asked if it was investigating the source of that leak. NSICOP is among the options Trudeau has suggested for considering foreign state interference in elections.
He’s also promised to appoint a “special rapporteur” to survey the landscape of issues at hand and decide if a public inquiry is warranted.The demand for a public inquiry has flowed from several corners, despite concerns that the classified information required to inform the committee’s work would be impossible to reveal publicly.
