Foreign affairs minister denied visa to political operative from China last fall
CTV
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada refused to give a diplomatic visa to a political operative for China last fall due to concerns about foreign interference.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada refused to give a diplomatic visa to a political operative for China last fall due to concerns about foreign interference.
She told MPs on a House of Commons committee on Thursday it was the right thing to do, and just one tool that Canada uses to combat foreign interference.
Joly was testifying as the House affairs committee studies possible foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.
The minister said the Liberal government takes the issue seriously, and that she would send Chinese diplomats packing "very, very quickly" if there was evidence that they interfered with Canada's elections or violated the Vienna Convention.
A committee of parliamentarians that oversees national security said on Wednesday that it has also begun a study of foreign interference, following a request from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In a statement, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians said it will examine the state of foreign interference in Canada's democratic processes since 2018.
That will continue the work done in its previous review of the government's response to foreign interference, which covered the period from 2015 to 2018.
