(Ottawa) Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly assured Thursday that any diplomat on Canadian soil who violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations will be expelled.
Testifying before a parliamentary committee looking into allegations of Chinese interference in the last two elections, she did not say whether diplomats have ever been expelled for this reason.
She said she has several “tools” at her disposal to get her message across to China, including mentioning visas that can be refused.
“We can prevent rather than cure,” she illustrated.
The minister said reports in recent weeks about alleged foreign interference are “deeply disturbing”.
“We have been clear with China both here at home and in international forums: Canada will never tolerate any form of foreign interference in our democracy or in our foreign affairs,” she insisted to elected officials.
Mme Joly noted that he had questioned the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, on this subject last week during the ministerial meeting of the G20 countries in New Delhi.
The Liberal government has been under pressure for the past few weeks to explain what it is doing about alleged foreign interference in the last two federal elections, in 2019 and 2021. Alleged instances of interference have been exposed by the Global network and the daily The Globe and Mail and are based on leaks from security sources.
Calls for the launch of a public and independent commission of inquiry into foreign interference are increasing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his intention to commission an “independent special rapporteur” to determine what the next step should be taken to clarify the allegations.
Earlier Thursday, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (CPSNR) said in a statement that it had begun its review of allegations of foreign interference.
On Monday, Mr. Trudeau also indicated that he had asked this committee to look into the matter.
The CPSNR works behind closed doors. It is made up of MPs from all recognized political parties in the House of Commons and senators, all of whom have Top Secret security clearances. This allows them to see sensitive information, but they are all bound to secrecy in perpetuity.