Canada's former ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques, says Beijing's meddling in Canada's democracy is worse than it has ever been.
Earlier this week, a report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged that sitting federal politicians are “witting” participants in foreign interference schemes.
The report did not name names, and the Liberal government is resisting revealing their identities, citing concerns about sharing intelligence information.
Saint-Jacques told Global News he isn't surprised about the bombshell allegations, but he is baffled by the lack of government response.
“What surprises me is that in fact the situation seems to have become worse over time,” Saint-Jacques said. “It's mind-boggling that not more has been done to counter that.”
When Saint-Jacques was an ambassador 10 years ago, he said he was privy to discussions raising concerns about parliamentarians, senators, provincial politicians and political staffers colluding with China.
The former ambassador says Canada has been “complacent” for nearly a decade when it comes to Beijing, and federal leaders need to take a harder approach.
“We should punish those where we have evidence,” he said.
“In other cases, when we have a good inkling of what's going on, there's a need to speak with these people and say, ‘This is behaviour that is not tolerable.'”
The report's release has raised concerns about from security experts that under current Canadian laws, it is difficult to prosecute MPs found to be working with foreign states. The Liberal government has tabled Bill C-70, which is meant to address foreign interference and require those acting on behalf of foreign governments in Canada to list themselves on a registry.
“I think it will make people liable for prosecution,” Saint-Jacques said. “And I think that's a welcome step.”
It's not clear whether the legislation will be put in place before the next general election, which must be called no later than October 2025.
But Saint-Jacques says there is more that could be done before the next election. He is advocating for political parties to “clean up” their nomination processes for political candidates and change rules so that only Canadian citizens can vote for candidates.
“(Foreign agents) may have been involved in some processes to select leaders at the federal level, and this is something that will need to be looked at,” Saint-Jacques said. “Our democracy is under attack.”
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