Liberal MP Says Still Much to Learn About Extent of Beijing Manipulation

Liberal MP John McKay rises in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in a file photo. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Following a report that Canada’s spy agency had tracked since 2019 a now-expelled Chinese diplomat who was spying on dissident groups, Liberal MP John McKay said these activities could be just the tip of the iceberg.

“I don’t think I know the extent that the Chinese are just ripping us off and manipulating us,” McKay told reporters outside the House of Commons on May 12.

“And I don’t know that we’ve actually come to grips with the nature and extent of particularly Chinese foreign interference, intimidation, the whole panoply of ways in which they try to not only manipulate the diaspora, but manipulate our larger society.”

According to a Globe and Mail report from May 12, CSIS had a significant counterintelligence file on Toronto-based diplomat Zhao Wei, who was declared persona non grata and ordered to leave Canada on May 8 for targeting an MP and his family.

Zhao reportedly kept track of known opponents of the Chinese Communist Party by taking photographs, monitoring events held by them, and sending their information back to China’s secret police. He also targeted Conservative MP Michael Chong for moving a House motion in 2021 condemning the Chinese regime for its treatment of Uyghur Muslims.

According to the Globe report, CSIS began monitoring Zhao back in 2019 and shared that information with Global Affairs Canada back in 2020, which has the authority to expel foreign diplomats for engaging in non-diplomatic activities.

Canadians ‘Unaware’ of Foreign Interference

McKay, who is the chairman of the House of Commons standing committee on national defence, said he was concerned about the report that CSIS knew about Zhao for over three years, but said he wasn’t the one “making the decision.”

“What were the elements of going into the decision? Did they feel paralyzed because of the Michaels?” McKay asked, referencing the two Canadians arbitrarily detained by the Chinese regime in 2018 after the RCMP’s arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou.

“I don’t know. But it would be a reasonable consideration that they felt restricted in their normal diplomatic/security reactions, if in fact, two of our citizens have been kidnapped.”

McKay said that when compared to the Taiwanese, who have been made more alert to Chinese interference in their society, Canadians are relatively unaware of the extent of foreign interference. “And until we raise our awareness of the threat environment, I don’t know that we'll develop appropriate reactions,” he said.

McKay said while the possible creation of a registry of foreign agents registry is “not the be-all end-all,” he hopes it will be a “wake-up call” for Canadians, particularly for politicians and journalists that are susceptible to targeting by Chinese agents.

Government Will ‘Not Hesitate’ to Act on China

During a press conference on May 12 in Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not directly answer a reporter’s question on why his government took three years to expel Zhao, instead saying his government would not hesitate to stand up for Canadian values.

“We will not hesitate to take action, where warranted, to stand up for Canadian values, rules, and laws. We will continue to do everything necessary to keep Canadians safe,” he said.

When asked if anyone was being held responsible for not raising the targeting of Chong to the prime minister, Trudeau said he implemented a policy last week that ensured that regardless of how credible the threats are toward parliamentarians, CSIS must raise it to the highest levels.

“CSIS regularly makes evaluations about which are serious or credible threats or not. From now on, when it comes to MPs or their families, they will be elevated,” he said.