(Bloomberg) — Canada is assessing the consequences of potentially expelling a Chinese diplomat accused in media reports of targeting a Canadian lawmaker’s family for sanctions as political punishment.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said her department summoned China’s Canadian ambassador to Canada to discuss the matter Thursday morning.
“We’re assessing the consequences that we’ll be facing in case of diplomatic expulsion, because there will be consequences,” Joly told a parliamentary committee.
The blowback could take the form of punishing Canada economically or diplomatically, she said. Joly mentioned the “Two Michaels” crisis, when China detained two Canadians for three years after Canada arrested a Huawei executive on a US extradition order.
A Chinese diplomat based in Toronto was looking into relatives of Conservative lawmaker Michael Chong who live in China for possible sanctions by China, the Globe and Mail reported this week, citing a leaked Canadian intelligence document from July 2021. The newspaper identified the Chinese diplomat as Zhao Wei.
Chong has taken a strong line against China’s government, including sponsoring a motion in parliament declaring that China’s treatment of its Uyghers and other ethnic minorities amounts to genocide.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters this week he was never briefed on this matter, as the country’s intelligence agency determined it wasn’t serious enough to require notifying him. Following the Globe report, Trudeau arranged a meeting for Canadian intelligence officials to brief Chong.
At Thursday’s committee meeting, Chong questioned Joly over why the government hasn’t acted more forcefully.
“You have given accreditation to a diplomat here who is using his diplomatic immunity to target not just me and my family, but other members of parliament,” Chong said. “So why do you, minister, continue to allow this diplomat to be accredited in this country, on Canadian soil?”
Joly answered that the government is “assessing different options, including the expulsion of diplomats.”
Earlier this year, a series of reports alleged Trudeau received intelligence briefings on Chinese attempts to meddle in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections, which his Liberal party won. Trudeau has so far resisted calls for a public inquiry into the matter, but has instead appointed a “special rapporteur” to examine the evidence and decide if an inquiry is warranted.
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