Global Courant
A day after embattled Special Rapporteur David Johnston defended his approach to investigating foreign interference before a parliamentary committee, several Chinese-Canadian diaspora groups say he should have consulted them and called for a public inquiry.
“Mr. Johnston’s report is a huge disappointment,” Gloria Fung, president of the Canada-Hong Kong Link, said at a joint press conference with other diaspora groups organized by the Bloc Québécois.
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet said Johnston has been unable to contact diaspora organizations.
“We expected consultation before the report came out,” said Sherap Therchin, director of the Canada Tibet Committee.
Asked to comment on Johnston’s promise of public hearings on foreign interference, Fung said they might not offer anything new.
“We have testified in numerous parliamentary committees over the past decade,” she said. “We’re not so sure how different the future public hearings will be from what we’ve experienced before.”
Citing China’s policy of forcibly separating Tibetan children from their parents to attend boarding school and the mandatory collection of biometric data, Therchin said Beijing’s attacks on Tibetan community and culture have “reached near-record levels”.
Mehmet Tohti, executive director of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, said his group has been informing the government for years and public hearings would only repeat that work. (CBC News)
“If we want to raise awareness of human rights violations in Tibet, Canada, we will meet opposition, interference from the Chinese government,” he said.
“Our concerns and the problems we have encountered are well known to government officials and parliamentarians,” said Mehmet Tohti, executive director of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project.
The Johnston report dominates the question period
Testimony from Johnston’s committee on Tuesday dominated Wednesday afternoon’s questioning period. Opposition members have already voted three times for a public inquiry and have asked the special rapporteur to resign.
“While the prime minister is protecting the secrets of the Liberal party, he is not protecting the people oppressed by China who are still family who have remained under the thumb of the Chinese regime and deserve to be safe in Canada and Quebec,” Blanchet said. against the Commons. . “Will the Prime Minister act like a leader and launch a public inquiry?”
David Johnston has said he plans to consult with diaspora communities during the next phase of his work, which begins next month. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said protecting diaspora communities is a priority for his administration.
“We know that the first targets of Chinese interference are diaspora communities,” he said. “That’s why we’re so strong at protecting them and involving them in the decisions we make.”
Trudeau reminded parliament that Johnston plans to tour the country in the summer to speak to diaspora communities and make recommendations to the government “on how best to protect them”.
The Special Rapporteur’s office did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
During his testimony before the proceedings and the House Affairs Committee Tuesday, Johnston discussed his plans to speak with diaspora communities, government representatives, pundits and intelligence officials in July.
“In this work, I will be supported by three special advisers with expertise in national security intelligence, law and diaspora communities,” he said.
He said those advisers have not yet been chosen.
Speaking to CBC’s Power and Politics Wednesday night, Therchin initially said he would participate in the public hearings if asked, but then said he would like to think about it more.
“If boycotting the David Johnston engagement sends a stronger message, then that’s something I need to discuss with my community,” he said.
“Canada is a fairly democratic country. Why hesitate to open a public inquiry?”
