In his latest book, My new stories (Les éditions La Presse), Jean Chrétien blames Chrystia Freeland for the deterioration of relations between China and Canada following the Meng Wanzhou affair.
Upon her arrest, on 1er December 2018, Chrétien tells us that his “phone is not ringing, and I realize the situation is very serious. I am asked to intervene, because it is possible that the whole will become catastrophic for many people ”. Chrétien refers to the Canadian business community with significant interests in China.
He contacted Gerry Butts, Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff, on the phone. “He listens to me very kindly and tells me not to worry, that he is going to watch this on Monday and that he will call me back. I’m still waiting for his call, and I’m taken aback by so much flippancy. “
A few days later, he is on the same plane as Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. “We have the opportunity to exchange for over an hour. She asks me to communicate to her any suggestion that might help the government. Chrétien sets to work with his friend Eddie Goldenberg. “We haven’t even received an acknowledgment. The same silence about a request for a new meeting with this one. “
After a few days, he contacted Justin Trudeau again, who told him that his government “would respect the rule of law and would never accept the blackmail of the Chinese with the arrest of the two Michael” and that “he was making it a question. in principle, regardless of the consequences. He would stand up to the Chinese, because he was a real defender of human rights, etc. “.
Chrétien feels targeted: “When I hung up, I was just stunned. So, Justin Trudeau’s father and I, during the twenty years that we have had relations with China, we would not have had principles and we would not have acted as human rights defenders? “
The case does not end there. “A very important Chinese personality” contacts him, asking for his help in breaking the deadlock. He elaborates three possible scenarios by insisting that the problem is political and not legal. But, quickly, he realizes where it gets stuck.
“I understand the Prime Minister’s dilemma, because he is stuck between my opinion and that of Mr.me Freeland and a slim majority of his other advisers. However, the opinion of his Minister of Foreign Affairs is completely irreconcilable with mine. “
The consequence of the obstinacy of Mme Freeland has led, Chrétien points out, to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars to farmers across the country, the freezing of business relationships and the coldness of diplomacy.
Russia
In the first volume of his Memoirs – My stories (Les Éditions La Presse) – Chrétien deplored the aggressive attitude of the Harper and Trudeau governments towards Russia. Same observation of Jocelyn Coulon in her book A selfie with Justin Trudeau (Quebec America). Former political advisor to Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion attributes Canada’s bellicose policy towards Russia to the Ukrainian lobby and, more specifically, to Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, herself of Ukrainian origin.
Jocelyn Coulon recounts that “when Dion was in Foreign Affairs, Freeland was Minister of International Trade. She is among the Canadians banned from visiting Russia after Moscow adopted sanctions against the country in retaliation for Canadian sanctions imposed after the Russian attack on Ukraine. Freeland spends considerable energy deepening relations with Ukraine and blocking all initiatives of his colleague in favor of a better relationship with Russia ”.
Coulon relates that, during a meeting between Trudeau, Dion and Freeland to determine Canada’s position with regard to Russia, “Freeland opposes any warming with Russia” and that “Trudeau, hesitant and incapable of to clarify his thoughts on Canada-Russian relations, lines up behind it ”.
Moreover, after Dion’s dismissal, Minister Freeland, who inherits her ministry, takes, says Coulon, “a malicious pleasure in describing Russia as the number one scarecrow on the international scene”, going so far as to put ” Islamic State terrorists and Russia on an equal footing ”.
Jocelyn Coulon and Jean Chrétien underline a fundamental fact about our relations with Russia: the Arctic. “Almost 50% of the North is in Russia and about 25% in Canada. Between the two of us, we control 75% of the North, ”writes Coulon.
Chrétien adds: “The Russians are de facto our most powerful allies ”, in the battle for the recognition of our rights in the Arctic. A glance at a geographical map shows that Quebec is the main arctic province of Canada. Minister Freeland’s hostile policy towards Russia therefore goes against the interests of Canada, Quebec and Aboriginal peoples.
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