Joly willing to expel China’s diplomats
OTTAWA Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed Thursday that Canada denied a diplomatic visa request from a Chinese political operative last fall due to concerns about foreign interference — and said she wouldn’t hesitate to expel diplomats for the same reason.
“I’ve instructed my department to never shy away from denying a visa if it’s a political operative linked to the Communist Party of China,” Joly said to the procedure and House affairs committee, which is studying alleged foreign election interference in the 2019 and 2021 general election.
“It is the right thing to do.” Facing a barrage of questions from opposition members of Parliament, Joly laid out the tools the Canadian government is using to combat foreign interference in response to questions about recent allegations of Chinese meddling.
She told MPs that it’s easier to keep people from engaging in foreign interference by blocking them from coming into the country, rather than monitoring them when they are already in Canada.
But she said diplomats operating in Canada can also be expelled if there is evidence under the Vienna Convention — a United Nations code governing international diplomacy — that they engaged in interference.
“If we have any form of clear evidence of wrongdoing, we’ll send diplomats packing very, very, very quickly,” she said.
Amid criticism from Conservative MPs over the fact that Canada has not expelled any such actors, Joly said her political opponents are looking for an “easy fix” that would prompt the retaliatory expelling of Canadian diplomats from China and could endanger Canadians who live overseas.
Joly said Canadian diplomats were crucial to bringing home Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in September 2021 after they were detained by China for more than 1,000 days.
“More than ever, we need capacity. We need eyes and ears on the ground. We need to be able to address national interests we have in our bilateral relationship. And I’m extremely concerned about the protections of Canadians abroad,” the minister said.