Alleged Chinese interference in Canadian society is “intolerable,” Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Tuesday as federal leaders met with their counterparts amid the G20 Summit.
According to a senior government source, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initiated a conversation with President Xi Jinping following a morning meeting of G20 leaders in Bali, Indonesia. It lasted a few minutes, and the leaders discussed the reports of Chinese interference, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea. They agreed to keep in touch, the source said.
Joly also spoke with her Chinese counterpart on Tuesday.
“I’ve said it many times and I said it to my counterpart: we won’t accept any form of meddling in our governments, in our elections, and we won’t tolerate any form of foreign interference in Canada,” Joly told reporters.
“It’s not a discussion. It’s intolerable and that’s our position.”
Joly added it’s a priority for the government to ensure security and law enforcement agencies are working to ensure to safety of Canada’s institutions.
Alleged Chinese interference in Canadian society has made headlines as of late, after Global News reported on Nov. 7 that China reportedly funded a clandestine network of at least 11 federal candidates who ran in the 2019 election, among other allegations of election interference in that campaign.
Furthermore, Quebec RCMP announced Monday the arrest of a former Hydro-Quebec employee they allege obtained trade secrets from the utility to benefit the Chinese government. And last month, RCMP officers announced they had begun an investigation into “reports of criminal activity in relation to so-called Chinese ‘police’ stations” in Canada.
Trudeau said on Nov. 7 that China and other nations were playing “aggressive games” with democracies; a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Nov. 8 that Canada should stop making remarks that hurt relations with China.
The brief interaction with the Chinese leader came as Trudeau announced a new funding commitment for developing countries. Trudeau pledged $750 million for infrastructure projects in Asia over three years, starting next March. The funding will be administered by FinDev Canada, which currently has a mandate to operate in Sub Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. It will now also help fund projects in developing countries in Asia.
It’s the largest chunk of the forthcoming Indo-Pacific strategy the Liberals have announced so far, and part of a G20 project meant to help low-and middle-income countries have safer and more sustainable cities.
Trudeau also announced $80 million for global health systems, with most of the funding going to a World Bank project that helps countries prevent pandemics and respond to them. The funding will also support projects that help developing countries manufacture COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
— with files from Global News’ Mackenzie Gray, The Canadian Press and Reuters