QUESTION PERIOD — Foreign Affairs
Canada-China Relations
June 17, 2021
My question is for the government leader in the Senate. One year ago today, the Trudeau government lost its bid for Canada to win a seat at the United Nations Security Council, garnering less support than the previous Conservative government had received in 2010. One would hope that the past year would lead the Trudeau government to embrace a principled foreign policy. Instead, we have seen this government choose to be absent from a house vote to recognize the genocide being carried out by the Chinese government against Uighur Muslims. Canada still has not taken a stance on the presence of Huawei in our 5G network, and the Trudeau government’s response to China’s crackdown in Hong Kong remains inadequate, to say the least. The list goes on and on, government leader. Will Canadians ever see a foreign policy with respect for human rights and the rule of law and democracy at its core coming from the Trudeau government? Yes or no?
The foreign policy of the Government of Canada has the best interests of Canada and its values at its core. This includes human rights. This includes the security and safety of those who are detained illegally and arbitrarily in China and in many other countries. It includes the best interests of many tens of thousands, if not more, of Canadians who depend directly or indirectly on trade and commerce with countries, even though those countries may not be our democratic allies. I understand the political and partisan dimensions of discussions about this, but there has been a consistent thread in Canada’s foreign policy in this government and, indeed, building on traditions of past governments to put Canadian interests first with human rights at its core.
Government leader, let’s not forget your government’s actions in the run-up to the vote and the various ways the Trudeau government abandoned Canada’s principles in pursuit of a Security Council seat. The Prime Minister warmly embraced and bowed before the Iranian foreign minister, that regime’s chief apologist, one month after the downing of Flight PS752. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, has still not been listed as a terrorist entity. Government leader, it’s been a while now that the Parliament of Canada has requested the government to list the IRGC. And the Trudeau government voted against our friend and ally Israel at the UN General Assembly and committed new funding for UNRWA, despite clear evidence of anti-Semitism.
Government leader, one year ago, the Trudeau government sold out Canada’s principles and still lost. My question is simple: Was it worth it?
My answer is simple, too, honourable colleague, with the greatest respect. It is simply misleading and unhelpful both to the interests of Canada and to our foreign policy to treat these important issues, in the complicated world that we live in, in such a partisan and one-sided way.
