The federal Conservatives have introduced a motion in the House of Commons calling on the Liberal government to immediately take action on a number of measures involving Beijing’s alleged interference activities in Canada, including one Chinese diplomat reportedly targeting an MP and his family.
The motion, put forth by Conservative MP Michael Cooper on May 4, calls on the federal government to take action on four specific points in response to “intimidation tactics of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) [that] are being deployed against many Canadians of Chinese descent in diaspora communities across the country.”
Cooper’s motion calls on Ottawa to immediately expel any PRC diplomats “responsible for and involved in these affronts to Canadian democracy.”
The motion comes just days after a Globe and Mail report cited top-secret CSIS documents saying that one of the PRC’s
spy services took “specific actions to target Canadian MPs” behind a 2021 House of Commons motion declaring China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities a genocide.
The report said Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family living in Hong Kong were
targeted for intimidation and that a Chinese diplomat in Canada named Zhao Wei was involved.
Cooper’s motion also calls on the federal government to immediately create a foreign agent registry similar to those adopted in Australia and the United States.
The Liberal government began a
consultation process regarding the creation of a foreign agent registry in March, but it has not yet concluded and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has said there is not yet any timeline for when it will be introduced.
“Unlike the Conservative Party, this is a government that truly believes in doing what it can to combat foreign interference and intimidation,” said Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux in response to the motion. Lamoureux serves as the parliamentary secretary to the leader of government in the House.
Lamoureux defended that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau only learned on May 1 about the targeting of MP Chong. He also stated that Chong had known for two years about the issue.
“The question is, has the member actually raised it with any members of the caucus? Has he brought it up inside the chamber? Has he done anything on the issue?”
Chong says he only received a defensive generic briefing on foreign interference with dozens of other MPs in 2021 and was not told of the specific threats against his family. The details were instead
shared with Chong on May 2 after Trudeau told CSIS to fully brief him.
Motion
The Tories’ motion also calls on Ottawa to establish a public inquiry on foreign election interference, for which all opposition parties in the House have previously voiced support.
On March 23, the House passed a non-binding motion introduced by the NDP calling for a public inquiry on the matter.
Trudeau has often reiterated that special rapporteur David Johnston, who has been tasked with independently investigating foreign election interference allegations, will
recommend that the government initiate a public inquiry if he believes it is necessary.
Trudeau previously said his government will “comply with and implement” all of Johnston’s recommendations on the matter.
Cooper’s motion also called on Ottawa to “close down” all unofficial Chinese police stations operating in Canada, several of which the RCMP has said it is currently
investigating. No arrests have been made so far.
Mendicino
recently said the RCMP took “decisive action” to shut the stations down, but the RCMP
told The Epoch Times that investigations remain ongoing.
Marnie Cathcart and Noé Chartier contributed to this report.
