The Canadian government summoned the Chinese ambassador on May 4 over the targeting of Conservative MP Michael Chong, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told a committee.
“I’ve instructed my deputy minister to summon the Chinese ambassador, that is what he’s doing as we speak,” Joly said as she testified before the House of Commons foreign affairs committee.
“We’ll convey to him directly that we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference and that all options, including expulsion of diplomats, remain on the table as we consider the consequences for this behaviour.”
Joly was before the committee to discuss budgetary matters, but the case of Chong took precedence.
A May 1 Globe and Mail stated that, based on national security leaks, the Chinese regime sought to target Chong and his family following a 2021 Commons vote declaring the treatment of Uyghurs in China a genocide.
Chong, who has family in China, was briefed on the matter by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on May 2, and said the agency confirmed the information reported by the Globe. A Chinese spy agency and a Chinese diplomat in Canada were reportedly involved in the scheme.
Chong asked Joly when she had learned about the issue and why the diplomat was still in Canada.
Joly said she learned through the news and that her government was currently assessing the consequences of expelling the diplomat. She said that drawing from the experience of the arbitrary detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, the Chinese regime will retaliate.
The two Michaels were kept in captivity by Beijing for over 1,000 days in retaliation for Canada honouring its legal obligations towards the United States by keeping under house arrest Huawei executive Meng Wangzhou, who was being accused of fraud.
Joly said that the interests needing to be protected include economic interests, consular interests, and diplomatic interests.
“With respect to interests, economic and otherwise, I can’t think of an interest more important to the Canadian state than the protection and the safety and the security of its own citizen,” replied Chong.
NDP MP Heather McPherson also took issue with Joly’s explanation about the need for an assessment.
“To hear you say things like that you’re assessing it makes makes me very, very concerned that you’re not taking this as seriously as you should,” she said.
“CSIS made the determination that it wasn’t something that needed to be raised to a higher level because it wasn’t a significant enough concern,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa, adding that from now on everything relating to a similar matter would need to be briefed up even if it doesn’t meet the usual threshold.
