Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says it is “outrageous” that Ottawa has allowed a sympathizer of Syrian President Bashar Assad to become that country’s honorary consul in Montreal.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday in response to a report by Maclean’s that she would look into how and why Waseem Ramli, a well-to-do Montreal businessman and “unapologetic supporter” of Assad, was approved for the post by Global Affairs Canada.
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She added neither she nor her team were aware that Global Affairs officials had approved his appointment and has asked the department to look into it right away.
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Scheer says Ramli should never have been allowed in the first place and is demanding Freeland “do more than just a review.”
While Canada severed diplomatic ties with Damascus in 2012, the Syrian government has maintained honorary consulates in Montreal and Vancouver ostensibly to assist Syrians with passports and other administrative issues.
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This isn’t the first time the Syrian consulate in Montreal has caused headaches for the government.
Then-foreign affairs minister John Baird found himself under fire in 2014 when he met Syria’s then-honorary consul in Montreal — a meeting Baird’s office later alleged was set up under false pretenses.
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