Conservatives Again Call for Withdrawal From Beijing-Linked Infrastructure Bank

Canada has halted all government led activity in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. VCG via Getty Images

The Conservatives have renewed their call for Canada to pull out of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

During Question Period in the House of Commons on June 16, Conservative MP Michael Chong said the June 14 resignation of AIIB executive Bob Pickard, a Canadian, shows the bank is dominated by the Chinese Communist Party.

“The bank is a tool of the Chinese Communist Party to spread its authoritarian model of governance throughout the Indo-Pacific region,” said Chong.

“The bank has said it’s willing to lend to Myanmar’s military junta, who’ve been targeting the Rohingya minority. And there are suggestions it is willing to resume lending to Russia. What more proof does the government need to conclude that this bank runs contrary to Canada’s interest and values?”

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance Rachel Bendayan responded that the federal government has halted all government-led activity at the bank.

“The minister of finance has instructed the Department of Finance to lead an immediate review of Canada’s involvement,” she said. “The Canadian government is currently discussing this issue with its allies and partners that are also members of the bank.”

Canada became a member of the AIIB in 2018, and has pledged a total of $995 million, according to the bank.

The AIIB was set up to finance infrastructure projects in Asia, and has 106 member governments, including Australia, Canada, Russia, France, and Britain. Japan and the United States are not members.

Chong added there have been other voices calling for Canada’s withdrawal.

“Just a couple of years ago, Global Affairs Canada advised the government that the bank is an example of how Beijing ‘promotes perspectives on governance, economic security, and human rights that diverge in fundamental ways from Canada’s,’” he said.

“And just two years ago, the finance committee recommended the government withdraw from the bank. Former Solicitor General and Finance Chair Wayne Easter said the recommendation should serve as a wake-up and smell-the-roses moment for the government. So, when will the prime minister heed the advice of Global Affairs Canada, heed the advice of senior Liberals, and withdraw Canada from the bank?”

On June 15, the AIIB said in a statement that it welcomed the review announced by the federal government.

“We welcome this review and will be cooperating fully. Transparency is essential to the trust of our 106 members, our multilateral peers, our development partners, our community of civil society organizations, and the citizens we serve,” said the statement.

In announcing his resignation on Twitter last week, Pickard said, “As a patriotic Canadian, this was my only course … the Bank is dominated by Communist Party members and also has one of the most toxic cultures imaginable. I don’t believe that my country’s best interests are served by its AIIB membership.”

In another post, Pickard said, “The Communist Party hacks hold the cards at the Bank. They deal with some board members as useful idiots ... I believe my government should not be a member of this PRC instrument. The reality of power in the bank is that it’s CCP [Chinese Communist Party] from start to finish.”

Pickard had been the bank’s director general of global communications.

In a June 14 statement, the AIIB called Pickard’s comments about the bank’s leadership “baseless and disappointing.”

And in its June 15 statement, the bank added that “AIIB will also be conducting its own internal review of the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Bob Pickard, and the allegations he has made.”

“The review will be conducted in line with the Bank’s governance frameworks and policies,” it added.

It’s not the first time the Conservatives have called for Canada to step back from the bank. In 2021, the Tories demanded the government stop funding the AIIB, given the detention of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.

Chong said the latest allegations reiterate that point.

“The resignation of a Canadian executive from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank confirms what we’ve long been saying,” he said.