Canada summons the Chinese ambassador for an alleged plot to harass a deputy and his family

The Chinese ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu. BLAIR GABLE (Reuters)

The Canadian government summoned Cong Peiwu, ambassador of the People's Republic of China, on Thursday for an alleged harassment orchestrated by Beijing against a conservative deputy and members of his family.

The announcement, made by the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, stressed that Canada "will not tolerate any form of foreign interference", in addition to leaving the door open to the expulsion of diplomats for this matter.

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, citing a document from the Canadian Intelligence and Security Service and an anonymous source from that institution, published last Monday that Michael Chong, a federal deputy from the Conservative Party, and members of his family in Hong Kong were targeted. of a 2021 harassment campaign by Beijing.

The reason for this alleged wave of intimidation, in which a diplomat from the Chinese consulate in Toronto is believed to have participated, would be the critical attitude of the Canadian parliamentarian to the Asian country in terms of human rights.

A day after the publication of the article, Michael Chong pointed out that he had not been informed by the Canadian Intelligence and Security Service (CSIS) of this plan since, according to the Conservative deputy, the office of Justin Trudeau did not authorize the transmission of this warning to you.

For Chong, "any attempt to intimidate or coerce the Canadian population constitutes a national threat."

Prime Minister Trudeau responded on Wednesday that he was never informed about the harassment of the parliamentarian and his family.

Trudeau stated that “even if the CSIS does not consider the level of concern to be sufficient to take more direct action, we need to be aware at the highest level of government.

That's how it has to be now."

In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Ottawa reported the meeting between Cong Peiwu and a senior official from the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The document states that, at the meeting, the ambassador noted that "China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries."

He also "strongly protested" Canada's threat to expel Chinese diplomatic personnel "based on hearsay."

The case of Michael Chong and his family adds to allegations regarding other alleged Chinese plans on Canadian soil.

In February,

and Global News, similarly citing CSIS documents, claimed that Beijing wanted to intervene in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections.

At first, Trudeau said a group of senior officials concluded that such efforts did exist, but that they had no impact on the election results.

However, after constant pressure, Trudeau appointed David Johnston, the former Governor General of Canada, on March 15 to investigate these allegations of meddling.

However, the opposition demands a public and independent commission to investigate the matter.

For its part, China categorically denies having implemented these electoral interference plans.

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