- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Don Valley West
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 58%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $170,976.68
- Government Page
- May/9/23 2:57:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is taking this matter very seriously. As soon as we received confirmation, I quickly took action.
One does not get the attention of the Chinese government by yelling and screaming and by making noise on that side of the House. One gets the attention of the Chinese government by taking direct action, by expelling a diplomat and by doing it carefully and consciously. That is what we do on this side of the House. That is what—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/8/23 3:29:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to inform the House that the Government of Canada has declared the individual in question today, a diplomat from China, Mr. Zhao Wei, persona non grata.
Our government has been clear we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has taken this decision carefully after considering all factors. Diplomats have been warned that any type of engagement in interference in Canada—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/8/23 2:57:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is really important to say that no one is misleading the House in this matter.
There are steps that need to be taken, always, if we are going to expel a diplomat. It is due process. Conservatives might say that we do not need to follow the rule of law. They do not need to say that, on that side of the House.
On this side of the House, we will always do due diligence, follow the evidence, follow the rule of law and make the right decision at the right time. The House can rest assured of that.
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- May/3/23 2:42:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that assertion is utterly false and below the dignity of this chamber.
Let me be very clear. Our government has repeatedly stated that we follow the Vienna Convention. If there is any evidence that is brought to our attention that a diplomat is acting outside of the Vienna Convention, we will act upon it because we take the rule of law seriously, and we take the rule of law to the core.
We will continue to fight to ensure that not just members of Parliament are protected, but every Canadian is protected from foreign interference.
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- May/1/23 2:35:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment, and this is uncharacteristic of me, to express my outrage at what has happened to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. It could be any of us in this House who was targeted for actions we have taken. It is an outrage, and we should all express that collectively. The Prime Minister will continue to work for Canadians and for Canadian democracy. We will continue to stand together and make sure that foreign interference will never be tolerated. If a diplomat has broken the Vienna Convention, he or she will be expelled.
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- Apr/24/23 3:12:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member raises an important question. It took a long time today to get out of the weeds and into a very life-threatening situation. The situation in Sudan is changing by the minute. The minister is in constant conversation with her counterparts around the world.
I want to take a moment to thank our diplomats, who have been courageous and working extremely hard. They have now been removed from the embassy. The embassy is closed. However, they continue to work to support Canada's efforts at both engaging in peace and helping Canadians. If anyone has a Sudanese Canadian friend, please make sure they register with ROCA so that we can help them immediately.
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- Apr/19/23 7:44:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, while I appreciate the hon. member's consideration on this issue, he is completely wrong. He is off the mark. If he has any evidence of individuals doing wrong, it is his responsibility to report that to the authorities. That is his responsibility. We cannot just cast aspersions in the House. We cannot just say anything we want without evidence.
I wish to be very clear. Our government will never tolerate any interference in any domestic issue that is beyond the rights and responsibilities under the Vienna Convention of diplomats in this country. Our minister and our Prime Minister have been completely clear: Any evidence that is brought forward will be dealt with seriously.
We will continue to operate to ensure that Canadians are safe and that everyone is following our expectations on domestic law, international law and international conventions. We will do that because it is our job.
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- Apr/19/23 7:39:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada, as I want to say very clearly to the House, takes any allegation of inappropriate or illicit behaviour by any foreign representative or diplomat in Canada extremely seriously, including interference in the internal affairs of Canada. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister have both been very clear that Canada will never tolerate any form of foreign interference.
The government, I think more than any other government I have ever experienced, has stated time and time again that foreign interference activities in Canada and violations of Canadian sovereignty are unacceptable. This includes harassment and intimidation of individuals, the establishment of illegal overseas so-called police stations and, of course, covert and malicious influence in Canadian democratic processes.
As my hon. colleagues are well aware, the Prime Minister relayed these messages directly to China's President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Indonesia last November. Our foreign affairs minister reiterated these same messages to her Chinese counterpart as recently as March 2 of this year, and had done so with her previous counterpart on more than one occasion. Global Affairs Canada officials have also repeatedly delivered similar messages to Chinese officials in both Ottawa and Beijing. Our message has been consistent: There is no tolerance for interference by the People's Republic of China on Canadian soil.
The government has clearly stated its expectation that China respect Canadian and international law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and any domestic law. We will never tolerate any breach by Chinese diplomats or diplomats of any other country of the Vienna Conventions on Canadian soil.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs was very clear during her last appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in March, when she said she would never hesitate to order out of Canada any foreign diplomat suspected of wrongdoing. She would never hesitate to do that, should clear and concrete evidence linked to specific individuals come to light. As my colleagues know, and this was emphasized by the minister before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, the expulsion of any diplomat accredited to Canada would be a measure of last resort. No decision would be taken without considering all factors and risks. This decision is never taken lightly.
The government will continue to choose the most effective tools from a wide range of options at our disposal to properly combat foreign interference. This includes diplomatic tools that may be subtle to some, but are very effective in preventing foreign interference before it starts. Sometimes that means stopping certain positions from being created at foreign diplomatic missions. For example, we denied China's request to create a new position at the embassy in Ottawa for the international liaison department of the Chinese Communist Party. It was inappropriate, and we refused permission to create it. Sometimes we stop certain individuals from being posted to foreign diplomatic positions here. In fact, very often the government in question will withdraw an individual's application as soon as we raise concerns.
Our government will also continue to ensure that China faces consequences for any illegal or inappropriate actions. The question of foreign interference is not one that is unique to Canada; this is a problem that our partners and allies around the world are also grappling with. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has been very clear that she is working with her counterparts from around the globe to share best practices. We will continue—
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- Apr/5/22 11:21:06 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am hoping to get one extra minute for that mention of Greenwood.
As I said, diplomacy, defence and development are three prongs of what we need to be doing. We need to engage diplomatically around the world. We need to make sure that we have intelligence, that we have information and that we have appropriate relationships to build alliances and build allegiances while we are also working on our military alliances and while we are also continuing to develop and provide humanitarian assistance. We will do that.
Ukraine is one example of election monitoring, of Unifier and of diplomatic relationship of which we have been very proud.
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