Champagne asked to explain his two Chinese mortgages

Foreign affairs minister’s debt could be used as leverage, Scheer says

OTTAWA—Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer called Friday for Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne to explain how his two mortgages with a Chinese state bank don’t compromise his ability to handle Canada’s tense relations with the People’s Republic. Those mortgages on two properties in Britain he bought before entering politics were fully disclosed when Champagne was elected in 2015 and have no bearing on his ability to do his job, the minister’s spokesman responded.

In a morning news conference, Scheer said Champagne is Canada’s top diplomat and China’s communist leaders can use the $1.2 million he owes on two London properties to the Bank of China as leverage at a time of strained relations.

“Owing someone over a million dollars — that’s pretty big leverage,” he said.

Champagne’s spokesperson Adam Austen said the minister disclosed the two mortgages to the ethics commissioner when he entered politics in 2015 and they were part of the public record.

“When he entered politics, the two mortgages with Bank of China (UK) Ltd. along with all his other liabilities and assets have been fully disclosed to the ethics commissioner and have been placed in the online registry,” Austen said Friday.

The mortgages became a subject of controversy following a report in the Globe and Mail newspaper this week.

On Friday, Scheer pointed to the ongoing dispute that has seen two Canadian men detained by China since December 2018 and the fact Canada is dependent on Chinese supplies of personal protective equipment for COVID-19.

Relations between Canada and China have been severely strained since the RCMP arrested Chinese high-tech scion Meng Wanzhou on an American extradition warrant in December 2018.

China arrested Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor nine days later in what is widely viewed as retaliation and has levelled accusations of spying against them.

Canada calls their detention “arbitrary” and has marshalled a broad coalition of international support calling for their release, which has angered Chinese leaders.

Scheer questioned why Champagne’s latest disclosure was made on June 4, four days ago. “So did the minister disclose both mortgages when he was elected in 2015 or not?”

The short answer, Austen said, is yes.

“It’s been fully disclosed to the ethics commissioner since 2015, and it’s been placed in the public registry since 2015,” Austen said, adding the most recent update to the public registry was done as part of Champagne’s annual disclosure, as required.

Austen declined to comment on Scheer’s characterization of Champagne’s real estate holdings.