Canada denied visa application for a Chinese political activist last time: Jolie
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie says Canada last fall denied a diplomatic visa application for a Chinese political operative.
Jolie made the comments before a parliamentary committee in Ottawa on Thursday. The Committee on Procedure and House Affairs is studying foreign interference in Canadian elections.
Jolie told the committee, “When China wanted to send a political activist last, we decided to deny a visa. Which is clearly the right thing to do.”
Earlier in the day, the Globe and Mail reported that the Chinese government had applied for visas for a new position at its embassy in Ottawa, which it called the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department.
A source told the newspaper that the Department for Global Affairs concluded the new position was “clearly not a diplomatic position” and was likely designed to handle covert political and interference activities.
Jolie sparred with Conservative MP Luke Berthold about whether Canada had expelled any Chinese diplomats.
“If there is a problem with any violation of the Vienna Convention on Canadian law, first and foremost we engage directly with China because that is what the G7 countries do. It is in our national interest to do so. I’m in.” Interested in doing that,” she said.
Watch: Trudeau dodges questions on warning of election interference
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dodged questions on Wednesday about whether he was briefed about China’s attempt to interfere in Canada’s election in 2019.
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