“Direction from Ottawa at the Highest Level”: Troubling Allegations That Canada Has Helped China Hunt for Fugitives for Decades (Video)
An investigation by CBC News’ The Fifth Estate shares that for decades the Canadian government, with direction “from Ottawa at the highest level,” has assisted Chinese law enforcement in pursuit of fugitive Chinese nationals living abroad.
Two former Canadian ambassadors to China told The Fifth Estate, Canada’s premier investigative documentary program, that help has sometimes come as a result of quid pro quo deals.
Former RCMP operations officer Calvin Chrustie revealed he received direction, “from Ottawa at the highest level” to “assist and collaborate with” Chinese officials in locating a “high-profile fugitive.”
Questions surrounding potential Chinese control and interference in Canada have been raised publicly.
In May of 2023, Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre demanded that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly brief all Canadians on alleged Chinese-operated police stations on Canadian soil.
Trudeau is facing a potentially damning ‘foreign influence inquest’ that could also unearth Chinese ties damaging to the PM and his party.
We need to investigate the Beijing-funded Trudeau Foundation.
We need to know who got rich; who got paid and who got privilege and power from Justin Trudeau as a result of funding to the Trudeau Foundation.https://t.co/chIDQ8lh0j
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) April 11, 2023
Chrustie said he refused to facilitate a meeting for the Chinese officials, who wanted to interview the fugitive and convince the person to voluntarily return to China to face prosecution.
China has ensured Canada’s continuing co-operation by bartering on trade, offering assistance fighting illegal drugs and by negotiating the release of Canadians arbitrarily detained in China, The Fifth Estate investigation found.
“Our economic interests sort of drove this,” said veteran Toronto immigration lawyer Lorne Waldman, who represents a number of people now in Canada who are wanted by Chinese authorities.
“We turned a blind eye to the lack of rule of law in China and turned a blind eye to the fact that we should be way more skeptical about the evidence coming from China. And as time went on, we turned a blind eye to the fact that Chinese agents were acting in Canada.”
Watch below:
In 2022, CCP leader Xi Jinping’s interaction with Trudeau shows just how little Communist China respects the West in general and Canada in particular.
Towards the end of the G20 Summit, China’s President Xi Jinping approached Trudeau and publicly scolded him,“Everything we discussed has been leaked to the paper, that’s not appropriate.”
A chastised Trudeau, was visibly uncomfortable, responded, “In Canada, we believe in free, open, and frank dialogue.”
