Barring Chinese diplomats is easier than expelling them, Joly says

The foreign affairs minister and a department official confirmed China's envoy to Canada has been summoned over 2019 and 2021 election interference.

It’s “easier” for Ottawa to stop Chinese diplomats from entering Canada than to expel them once they are here, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says.

She also acknowledged to the committee that the Chinese ambassador has been summoned specifically over election interference, with a Global Affairs Canada official echoing that in response to a question on Thursday that asked if the summoning was over “interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections.”

“Yes, that is correct,” said Jennie Chen, an executive director with GAC’s Greater China division.

The comments Thursday came after Joly told a committee of MPs investigating suspected Chinese interference in Canada that Global Affairs Canada denied a Chinese “political operative” a visa last fall. The Globe and Mail first reported the news Thursday morning.

“When China wanted to send a political operative last fall, we decided to deny a visa, which obviously is the right thing to do,” Joly said.

“When it comes to our own accreditation process for granting visas to diplomats, there’s a higher level of awareness in the last months. … I’ve instructed my department to never shy away from denying a visa if it’s for a political operative and therefore linked to the Communist Party of China.”

The Liberal government has been under fire in recent weeks over how seriously it has taken suspected Chinese foreign interference, as reports from Canada’s intelligence community continue to emerge.

On Wednesday, Global News published a story indicating two high-level national security reports before and after the 2019 election suggest senior government officials were warned that Chinese government officials were funnelling money to Canadian political candidates.