‘If they have any skill at all, it’s the ability to read the room. … This is not the right time’
As the federal inquiry on foreign interference by China and other nations resumed last week, hearing from activists who claim persecution by those countries, a much different sort of approach to the People’s Republic unfolded overseas.
A delegation of five MPs and senators, most of them on friendly terms with Beijing, visited China, meeting officials of the unelected National People’s Congress and other state institutions.
But critics say latest mission was highly inappropriate in light of concerns about Beijing’s interference here, as well as issues such as the imprisonment of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from 2018 to 2021 and the repression of China’s Uyghur minority, which the House of Commons has unanimously termed a genocide.
To make a hands-across-the-waters visit as a commission examines allegations of China’s meddling is “counterintuitive” and naive, said Winnie Ng of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China. She testified to the inquiry last week.
“If this is what Canadian diplomacy looks like now, we are in deep trouble,” said Ng. “You can’t help but question what is the intent of this kind of association. Is it to get a photo op, is it window dressing, as if human rights are all fine and we can learn from each other?”
Dong could not be reached for comment by deadline.
As well as him, the delegation included fellow co-chair and independent Quebec Sen. Paul Massicotte, Conservative Sen. Victor Oh, Liberal MP Majid Jowhari and NDP MP Don Davies.
The group had “open and frank conversations” on a variety of issues, including support for Canadian businesses operating in China and human rights, the association said in a news release.
But Chiu and Ng noted that the legislators they met in China were of a wholly different breed than the MPs, at least, in the delegation.
The National People’s Congress is a non-democratic body that effectively rubber-stamps the policies of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
“Each member of Parliament has tens of thousands of Canadians behind them. They are duly elected by the people,” said Chiu. “If anything, the People’s Congress members should be coming to Ottawa to see how democratic politics is being practised in Canada, rather than vice versa.”
Like Davies, though, he was among a small handful of MPs who abstained from a vote that unanimously approved a motion declaring China’s treatment of the Uyghurs a form of genocide.
Some other members of the delegation have not exactly gone out of their way to challenge China, or in one case another repressive regime.
Davies has a history of paralleling Beijing’s narrative on contentious issues.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Quebec wants to curb excessive tipping.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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