TIME FOR SOME HARD TRUTHS

Trudeau needs to be honest with Canadians about China’s meddling

Canadians deserve answers on Chinese interference in our internal affairs and we aren’t getting them.

From claims of Chinese police stations in Canada to allegations of China meddling in our elections, we need to hear the truth.

The Trudeau government hasn’t denied the claim that China aided 11 candidates, both Liberals and Conservatives, to try and elect Beijing-friendly candidates. There was even an international incident at the G20 last week after Prime Minister Trudeau raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

We don’t know what Trudeau said but last Wednesday, we got confirmation that it was raised after Xi tried to dress Trudeau down for leaking details of their conversation to the media, What Trudeau needs to do now is release details of what alleged  to have happened to the public.

Were any of the 11 candidates elected? Are any of them in Trudeau’s cabinet? What about the allegation that a sitting Ontario MPP assisted the Chinese consulate in Toronto to carry out this plot?

Asked last Thursday about this issue, Premier Doug Ford’s office said they’ve never been briefed.

“We have never been briefed or received any information from the federal government regarding these allegations,” said Christine Wood, press secretary in Ford’s office.

Ford’s office refused to answer repeated questions on whether the premier believes there should be further investigation of the matter. Whether it is Trudeau or Ford, attempting to dismiss this or ignore the issue will only undermine confidence on our democratic system.

China’s interference isn’t restricted to claims of election meddling but also espionage, we saw an arrest last week, and what are described as police stations on Canadian soil. On that front, the good news is that claims of three police stations in Toronto are exaggerated.

In October, the three addresses given as locations of police stations in both Scarborough and Markham, were found to be variety store, a home and a non-descript industrial park location filled with legitimate businesses.

While these are no “stations” it appears that China is sending officials into Canada to try to convince Chinese nationals, who may be Canadian citizens as well, to return to China to face charges. Intimidation, threats against family members still in China and other pressure tactics are used.

“It’s the coercive element that is troublesome,” Richard Fadden, the former national security advisor and director of CSIS said in an interview at the time.

He said it’s doubtful that China has registered these agents as police officials saying it is more likely that people registered as embassy or consulate staff are carrying out the duties. That, he said, makes these types of activities very difficult to stop.

“Everyone assumes that by flipping a switch we can make it go away. They are trying to do this under the radar,” Fadden said.

He, like many, has called for a foreign agents registry, a tool used in many countries. Anyone acting on behalf of a foreign government needs to register their activities. Anything not registered would be grounds for charges or removal from the country.

It seems like the least that we could do but in an attempt to bring in such a law through a private members bill was shut down. The man behind that bill, Conservative MP Kenny Chiu, was defeated in the 2021 election after a coordinated campaign to smear the Hong Kong born politician in Chinese media. He believes the Chinese government targeted him and other MP’s for taking tough stands against Beijing.