Canada's special committee on China will investigate the nation's relations
Key Takeaways:
- The House of Commons of Canada has voted to re-appoint a select committee to examine Canada's relationship with China.
- The opposition Conservative Party made the idea, and it received backing from the other main parties, including the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Quebecois.
- The committee was formed in 2019; however, it has yet to be reappointed following the September 2021 national elections.
Despite opposition from the ruling Liberal Party, Canada's House of Commons has voted to re-appoint a special committee to review the country's relationship with China.
The opposition Conservative Party introduced the proposal, which got support from the other major parties, the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Quebecois. The House adopted the resolution late Monday, with 168 votes in favor and 155 votes against, even from the Liberal caucus.
This was also the first time the NDP broke lines with the Liberals since they signed a "confidentiality agreement" in March, under which they agreed to work together in the House and also in committees to guarantee that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's administration served out its full term, which runs until 2025.
The House will appoint the special committee with "the mission to undertake hearings to study and assess all elements of the Canada-Republic People's of China relationship, including but are not limited to diplomatic, consular, legal, security, and economic connections," according to the resolution.
It will have 12 members, six from the ruling party and six from the opposition.
"Beijing's communist regime continues to threaten and harass pro-democracy and human rights activists in the Chinese community here in Canada," the two MPs who moved the resolution, Conservatives Michael Chong as well as Pierre Paul-Hus, said in a statement. Beijing's communist rule also threatens Canada's national security and values."
"Its establishment takes place as we await the Trudeau government's long-promised and long-overdue Indo-Pacific plan," they continued.
The committee was established in 2019, but it was yet to be reappointed following the national elections in September 2021.
In June 2021, the House of Commons speaker Anthony Rota reprimanded the then-president of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Iain Stewart, for refusing to hand over documents relating to the reasons for the firing of 2 Scientists from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg in January 2020, putting the ruling in jeopardy.
Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, were hauled out of the laboratory in 2019 amid allegations that she oversaw the transport of Ebola and Henipah viruses to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is now known as the Covid-19 pandemic.
A special committee will renew the effort to obtain those records, and the Trudeau government is anticipated to continue to oppose their release on national security concerns.