More than two years after Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spacor were detained by the Chinese Communist Party, Canada’s Trudeau government continues to inject funds into the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and issue commercial contracts to Chinese companies, a move that has drawn severe criticism from opposition political parties and public opinion in Canada.
Canadian citizens Spavor (left) and Kang Mingkai (right), who are in Chinese custody.
Two Canadians – Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor – have been held by the Chinese Communist Party for 871 days, and Canadians are outraged by the Chinese government’s bullying tactics. But the Trudeau government, which claims to have made the release of the two men a top priority, has been caught continuing to funnel benefits to the Chinese Communist Party, continuing to bet money on the Asian Investment Bank, and failing to pressure the Chinese Communist Party to release the two men.
In the House of Commons, Candice Bergen, deputy speaker of the Canadian House of Commons and deputy leader of the Conservative Party, harshly criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet government for saying one thing and doing another, contrary to public opinion: “Prime Minister Trudeau has only given $40 million to China’s ADB, how can we believe that the Trudeau government will put the interests of two Canadians as its top priority? How can we believe that the Trudeau government will put the interests of two Canadians at the top of its priority list? All we see is that the Trudeau government is saying more and doing less, not banning Huawei, and not acknowledging that the Uighurs in Xinjiang are suffering from a genocidal crisis.”
Ottawa pledged in 2017 to inject C$256 million into the ADB, with annual installments of C$40 million.
Candice Bergen (pictured), deputy speaker of the Canadian House of Commons and deputy leader of the Conservative Party, harshly criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet government on the House floor for saying one thing and doing another, going against public opinion.
Canada’s largest opposition party, the Conservative Party, said, “When the Chinese Communist Party introduced the ADB concept, the U.S. government criticized it as a political tool that would be used by the Chinese Communist Party to expand its influence in Asia. In addition, there are ongoing questions about the ADB’s environmental record, labor standards, and human rights violations. The Chinese Communist Party has arbitrarily detained and secretly tried two Canadians, and Canada should be pressuring China not to support the ADB at all.”
Conservative MP John Williamson also compiled a report through inquiries from federal departments and agencies that found that during the two years between 2019 and 2020, when the two Canadians were arrested, the Trudeau government continued to do business with China, funneling at least C$6 million in contracts to Chinese companies. For example, Export Development Canada had contracts with Chinese companies totaling $2.2 million; the Canadian Mint awarded contracts totaling nearly $1.9 million; Global Affairs Canada gave China $753,000 in contracts; and Public Health Canada signed $228,000 in contracts with Chinese state-owned enterprises to buy disposable gloves, among others.
Because the information only includes the operations of entities based in China, and there are a number of federal agencies that were unable to provide detailed information, the total value of contracts between Ottawa and China should be higher than the published figures.
Cominco and Spavor have been in custody for 871 days. (International Crisis Group tweet)
Canadian current affairs commentator Shen Sheng was disappointed to see what Ottawa was doing and criticized the Trudeau government as an opportunistic party that lacks political values: “The Trudeau government does not have a stable benchmark of values, so its policies show that it is this today and that tomorrow. It wants to benefit economically from China, but it also wants to appear to be in line with the world’s main trend, because the world’s trend is besieging the Chinese Communist Party, and it is wavering as it tries to meet this trend and to do business with China.”
MP Williamson also criticized, “Canadian nationals have hardened their attitudes toward the Chinese Communist Party, and the nation sees clearly that Beijing only sees other countries as vassal states, while our federal government and bureaucracy remain oblivious to the issue.”
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