Trudeau Finally Resigns

Trudeau giving his speech to reporters this morning in Ottawa

Finally this morning Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would step down. 

There was a flurry of excitement on CBC Radio, where a network special would start at 7am Pacific -- no -- at 7.30am Pacific. 

They cut into the morning show to bring Trudeau live from outside his Rideau Cottage, still decked in holiday decorations.

He looked hurt (and maybe cold?) when he explained "internal battles" had made it impossible for him to lead the Liberals in the next election, while also blaming the polarisation in the legislature for not being able to get bills passed.

Just having turned 53 on Christmas Day, Trudeau probably wanted a better celebration, but there was too much pressure mounting on all sides. Inside the Liberal Party there were already calls for Trudeau to resign, but he seemed to ignore the writing on the wall until his deputy and finance minister Chrystia Freeland abruptly quit last month, citing she did not agree with the direction he was taking the country.

Trudeau has also been facing a lot of heat from Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, who constantly chided him with snarky soundbites, and then New Democrat Jagmeet Singh finally said his party was no longer propping up the Liberals anymore -- the Liberals were on their own.

There was also pressure from across the border from US President-elect Donald Trump, calling Trudeau the "governor" of the "51st state", despite the Canadian leader paying at least two visits to Mar-a-Lago to see if there was any chance of talking down Trump from the 25 percent tariffs.

So yes, Trudeau was dealing with a lot of heat on all sides.

"Removing me from the equation as the leader who will fight the next election for the Liberal Party should also decrease the level of polarisation that we're seeing right now in the House and in Canadian politics," he said, "and allow people to actually focus on serving Canadians in this House and with their work, the way Canadians deserve," he said at one point in his speech.

Trudeau's announcement garnered a lot of interest from friends and relatives from San Francisco to Singapore, wondering what my take was on him resigning.

In 2015 we visited Halifax and we bumped into someone was campaigning for him. They hoped he would beat then Prime Minister Stephen Harper and I said, "I sure hope so!"

And he did, but then his majority kept shrinking with each election.

I knew Trudeau would be a lightweight, but he managed to hold his own for almost 10 years. However, he wasn't able to handle curveballs well, like the Meng Wanzhou case that was intertwined with the two Michaels. Trudeau later tried to stand up to Xi Jinping but instead was ridiculed in Chinese state media. 

There were later revelations of Chinese interference in the Canadian elections, and the strange case of Chinese police stations in the country that raised a lot of eyebrows. Not much has happened since the revelations, while other countries have kicked out these police stations.

Hopefully the next leader will take the opportunity to really clean house and get rid of any potential interference by Chinese and Indian state actors. Canada does not need these influences in politics or society.

Another misstep was immigration; the Trudeau government had announced there would be up to 500,000 immigrants let into the country annually which left Canadians flabbergasted -- how could so many be invited to come when they themselves didn't have jobs or places to live. 

The government later backtracked on its numbers, but it was too late -- anti-immigrant sentiment had already set in, not just by native-born Canadians, but also first and second generation immigrants who had benefited from Trudeau's father's immigration policies.

Despite Freeland's ambitions to become the next Liberal leader, her chances are slim because of her long association with Trudeau. While no one has officially thrown their hat into the ring, former Bank fo Canada governor Mark Carney has expressed interest, and same with former BC Premier Christy Clark.

Whoever is chosen by March 24 will have a tough road ahead dealing with not only Trump, but also the possibility of Canadian opposition parties calling a non-confidence vote in the House that could precipitate into an election.

The best case scenario would be a Conservative minority government to keep Poilievre in check. We don't want the CBC defunded, but we do want the budget managed... Trudeau's frivolous spending days are over.

 

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Visits Beijing

Joly met with Wang in Beijing today, first visit in seven years

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly made a surprise visit to Beijing, the first in seven years following the detainment of the two Michaels, and an investigation into China's alleged interference in Canada's elections, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joly met with her counterpart Wang Yi with the hopes of stabilising bilateral relations between the two countries. 

"The two ministers took note of recent positive developments in relations, including the resumption of consular consultations, and the recent exchanges at senior levels," says a readout (summary) of the meeting released by Global Affairs Canada.

The discussions were described as "pragmatic"

"Minister Joly's visit reaffirms the Minister's commitment to pragmatic engagement with China and the development of sound and stable bilateral relations."

The statement goes on to say that China "indicated a willingness to explore opportunities to strengthen engagement" on such issues as climate and the environment, curbing the fentanyl crisis and working to improve trade relations.

China's readout echoed Canada's description of the talks, saying: "As two major countries with important influence in the Asia-Pacific region, both countries share extensive common interests and complementary advantages."

During the meeting with Wang, Joly did bring up the thorny issue of reports of Chinese interference in Canadian politics, such as the elections in 2019 and 2021, China accused of setting up police stations in Vancouver and Toronto, and the targeting of Conservative MP Michael Chong.

However China's statement said: "Issues related to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong are all China's internal affairs and no external interference is allowed."

Detainment of two Michaels put relations on ice

Nevertheless, China experts say this is a good first step. Former China diplomat Guy St Jacques says the Chinese economy is in the doldrums and wants to convince foreign companies to invest in China. "They know that after the arrest of Meng Wanzhou and the two Michaels, that Canadian executives are still reluctant to travel to China," he said in an interview with CBC.

He added that despite political relations not doing well, last year Canada established a new record in terms of exports to China of C$31 billion, in terms of minerals and agri-food products. 

St Jacques thinks Wang will seek Joly's opinion about what is happening in the US presidential election and perhaps she will invite him to come to Canada at an appropriate time.

Well take this visit as a positive step, and perhaps China conferring approved destination status on Canada in the near future?

Chinese Police Stations Shut Down in Canada

One of the alleged police stations in Markham, Ontario

Canadians can breathe a sigh of relief now that the RCMP has shut down the Chinese police stations that were in British Colombia, Quebec and Ontario -- but did not make any arrests.

This latest news follows the expulsion of Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei for allegedly targeting at least two federal politicians for intimidation because of their pro-democracy stance on China.

Mendicino said the RCMP shut down the stations

In April, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told a parliamentary committee the federal police force had taken decisive action to close down the alleged stations.

According to Spain-based human rights watchdog group Safeguard Defenders, these police stations monitor Chinese nationals and persuade those who have been suspected of committing crimes to return to China to face charges.

However, the Chinese embassy denies this claim, saying the stations provide Chinese nationals with assistance to things like renewing driver's licenses. 

Last fall the RCMP began probing the alleged police stations in the Greater Toronto Area, and then by mid-March it announced it was also looking into reports of stations in Vancouver and Montreal.

The RCMP later told a Canadian news outlet that some of the activity it's investigating "is occurring at locations where other legitimate services to the Chinese Canadian Community are being offered."

An alleged station in Montreal, no arrests made

In other words, the stations were irrelevant.

The RCMP says it continues to investigate "transnational repression activity, and those responsible for transnational repression, to ensure Chinese and other Canadians are safe from foreign influence."

Now if only the Canadian government finally get its act together and hold some kind of inquiry into foreign interference to really clear the air...

Canada Expels Chinese Diplomat

Zhao has been declared persona non grata by Canada

The Canadian government finally pulled the trigger and declared Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei persona non grata. He must leave in five days for targeting opposition MP Michael Chong and his family in Hong Kong for intimidation. 

In retaliation, the Chinese government has expelled Canadian diplomat Jennifer Lynn Lalonde in Shanghai. She has until May 13 to leave China.

Chong says expulsion should be done earlier

This comes a week after the Globe and Mail published a report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service revealing Zhao had taken efforts to target Chong and his relatives after he sponsored a motion to condemn China's treatment of Uyghurs.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said: "I have been clear: we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs. Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home."

Chong called the move a victory, but not just for himself.

"It's a victory for all Canadians who have been a victim of foreign interference for the past five or 10 years, who've been subject to threats from authoritarian regimes like Iran, like the government in Beijing."

Joly will not tolerate foreign interference

But he said it has taken too long for the government to finally take action.

Former ambassadors to China like Guy Saint-Jacques, David Mulroney and Gordon Houlden have been sounding the alarm for at least a year that Canada needs to be more pro-active in dealing with Beijing's aggressive moves.

In a TV interview today, Saint-Jacques wasn't surprised if China would retaliate and expel a Canadian diplomat (which was subsequently done), but that economically Canada may not be hit too hard, as China's economy is not doing well and is trying very hard to court foreign countries to come back and do business.

Nevertheless this latest development further sinks Sino-Canadian relations further; a motion was passed to set up a foreign agent registry despite calls by Senator Yuen Pau Woo that it is racist. On the contrary, this registry applies to all countries, not just China. 

An alleged Chinese police station in Richmond

There may also be more momentum to demand China shut down its police stations in Canada, which would be a relief to a lot of people, not just those in the Chinese diaspora.

RCMP Investigating Chinese Police Stations in Canada

Lucki says complaints of Chinese police stations have dropped

Remember those Chinese police stations operating in Canada? The RCMP have been investigating them since October.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki says they sent their vehicles to these stations to show their presence, and that they are watching them. In some cases, Lucki said they spoke to people involved with these so-called police stations that apparently provide domestic services to residents who are mainland Chinese.

However, human rights group Safeguard Defenders claims these police stations persuade people to return to China to face charges through harassment, intimidation and coercion. There are at least 102 of these such stations in 53 countries, of which three of them are in Toronto, one in Vancouver (Richmond).

RCMP vehicle in front of a "station" in Richmond

Lucki says the RCMP is investigating all four stations, but cannot comment further as she spoke before a special committee for Canada-China relations.

She explained the stations are in locations where there is a legitimate business in the front. "In some of these cases, it could be as simple as a room behind a commercial retail store."

So far, she says the strategy of showing the RCMP's presence has been successful. "We haven't heard very many new complaints on those three stations in Toronto and the one in Vancouver as a result of the disruption we have done," she said.

And because of the overt RCMP presence, Lucki adds people have come forward to give information. 

She did not give a timeline of when the investigation would conclude, but that Canada was working with local police, Five Eyes allies and other law enforcement agencies around the world.

While we appreciate the RCMP conducting a thorough investigation, time is of the essence -- the longer the stations are in Canada, the longer they feel entitled to stay.

Mulroney warns of more Chinese interference

Meanwhile in a separate meeting of the House procedure and house affairs committee Tuesday, former Canadian diplomats to China warned MPs to take foreign interference seriously.

Former ambassador David Mulroney said Chinese interference in Canadian elections was an "increasingly serious problem."

"I worry that we have yet to address this threat with the urgency it deserves," he said.

He suggested Canadian police "need to be more present in diaspora communities and better informed" about Chinese interference. Police also need to be able to "act as if they are to protect people who are being harassed and silenced by the Chinese state in Canada.

Charles Burton, former ambassador and now senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, pointed out no Chinese diplomat has been expelled and "no agents of the Chinese regime have been brought before a Canadian court to be accountable for alleged criminal activity."

He said this lack of action would have consequences. "This emboldens the Chinese regime to do much more of it in the next election," he warned.

"In other words, the longer we remain passive and ineffective, the more encouraged they'll be that they can do more of this and get away with it."

Will Canadian lawmakers listen to these admonitions and take them seriously?