Michael Chong and his family threatened | The failures of the government machine still unexplained

(Ottawa) Justin Trudeau insists: the information collected by CSIS on the Beijing campaign targeting Michael Chong and members of his family never reached him. However, he offered few details on the reasons for this mess, which two of his former ministers denounced.

The Prime Minister preferred to look to the future rather than dwell on what may have happened within the senior public service, or why he said that the report produced in July 2021 by the Service Canadian Security Intelligence Agency (CSIS) was “not out” of the agency.

“I shared the most accurate information I had at the time, both with Michael Chong and Canadians,” pleaded the Prime Minister during a press briefing on the sidelines of the National Liberal Convention being held in Ottawa. Asked to explain where he had obtained this information, he said he did not want to “go into detail”.

In fact, the document was shared: with the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, with departments and with the Privy Council Office, the Prime Minister’s department. That’s what current national security adviser Jody Thomas told Michael Chong on Thursday.

The apathy of the government machine at such high levels has been deplored by two former Liberal ministers, John McCallum – also a former Canadian ambassador to China – and the former Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna .

“That a bunch of people in Ottawa knew MP Chong’s family was being targeted by the Chinese, decided not to tell him, and that there were no apparent consequences is appalling personally, politically and diplomatic. But not surprising in my experience. Let’s get serious,” M wrote.^me McKenna on Twitter, Thursday.

“Completely agree,” added his former colleague McCallum.

Expulsion of diplomats

Justin Trudeau had nothing new to share about the possibility that Canada could expel Zhao Wei, the diplomat from the Toronto consulate who orchestrated these maneuvers against the conservative. “It is no small thing to expel diplomats, and it is something that must be taken seriously,” he argued.

“And I can assure you that the Minister [des Affaires étrangères Mélanie Joly] is looking in detail at the options and justifications, and also thinking about the possible consequences. But we will act in the right way, ”chained the Liberal leader.

The Trudeau government summoned the Chinese ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, on Thursday to reprimand him.

On the embassy site, a spokesperson for Xi Jinping’s envoy “vigorously protested the threat to expel relevant Chinese diplomatic and consular staff based on rumors of so-called ‘interference by the China” amplified by some Canadian politicians and media”.

Because these, “in an attempt to make political gains and attract attention, driven by ideological prejudices”, have “manipulated China-related issues, attacking and discrediting China”, he said. there were also protests in the Chinese camp.

And if Ottawa continues its “provocations”, Beijing will retaliate every time, “until the end”, we concluded.

Minister Joly agreed that the risk of reprisals is a factor that Ottawa takes into consideration.

“It is important that Canadians know [que] what we learned from the experience of the two Michaels is that […] the People’s Republic of China will take action,” she told a House of Commons committee.

The three opposition parties believe that the government must carry out one or more expulsions.

The Michael Chong case was revealed by the daily The Globe and Mailwhich on Monday published excerpts from the secret report produced in July 2021 by CSIS, in which it is learned that the Ontario elected official and members of his family in Hong Kong were targeted by threats as part of a Chinese scheme .

The main interested party learned it from the newspapers. Justin Trudeau too, according to his words.