Canadian Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole once again urged the Canadian government, led by Prime Minister Trudeau, to take a tougher stance against China and Huawei technology in an interview on Nov. 15. He explained that the Conservative Party is preparing to introduce a motion in the Canadian Parliament asking the Canadian government to ban Huawei’s participation in the country’s 5G network within 30 days, among other measures.
O’Toole said the Conservative Party, led by him, is preparing to introduce a motion asking the Canadian government to ban Huawei from participating in the country’s 5G network construction project within 30 days, as well as introducing new strategies to deal with the expansion of China’s influence and the intimidation of Canadians in the country. O’Toole said the Liberals “should be honest with Canadians” and Canada’s allies, “highlighting the risks and intimidation that hundreds of Canadians and families feel from the Chinese Communist Party’s influence operations in Canada.” Canadians need a responsible, principled leader, he said.
O’Toole said, “We are putting forward motions to have a serious public education discussion so that the government finally takes these issues seriously.” O’Toole’s renewed criticism of Trudeau’s China policy comes as two Canadians, Kang Mingkai and Spavor, remain in custody in China. They were both subsequently arrested in China after Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in response to a U.S. extradition request during a transit flight in Vancouver. Trudeau declared in an interview on Sunday that Canada does not believe in “coercive diplomacy” and will not “succumb to Chinese pressure” on the Meng case. He also specifically mentioned the incident in his first telephone conversation with Biden, who was announced as the next president of the United States.
Trudeau told the media last Friday that this is why Canada is “working very closely” with its allies to “really hold a common front, act together and make clear that coercive diplomacy is neither something that is in China’s medium- or long-term interests, but more specifically, it is a matter of respect and What is unacceptable to countries and the world that uphold the rule of law.”
Also asked if Canada is prepared to face Chinese retaliation if it takes a tough stance against the Chinese threat, O’Toole stressed that Canada needs to work with the members of the Five Eyes Coalition “to make sure that we have a balance of size, economic power, to offset Beijing’s intimidation” “. He added, “Over the last 20 years, all political parties and democracies have tried to engage with China to get it to join organizations like the WTO and transform it to a country that respects the rule of law and human rights, but the opposite is true and it’s time for a change in strategy.”
O’Toole said, “The more we work with like-minded allies, the more we can counteract this effect and reduce their ability to isolate Canada or isolate Australia. That’s why it’s important that we stay in tune with our allies.” He continued, “The democratic world is watching Canada to see if Mr. Trudeau is finally going to take China seriously in terms of security, human rights, and fair and free trade, or is he still going to have this naive admiration for basic authoritarian regimes?”
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