Global Courant 2023-05-06 13:00:22
The federal government is under intense political pressure to expel a foreign diplomat from Canada. Such evictions are rare, but they do happen.
Earlier this week, the Globe and Mail reported that Zhao Wei, a diplomat at the Chinese Consulate in Toronto, was reportedly working on attempts to threaten the relatives of Conservative MP Michael Chong.
Chong, whose father was from Hong Kong, has relatives in China. The Chinese embassy in Canada and Beijing’s foreign affairs spokesman have denied the allegations.
The conservatives have repeatedly demanded that the Trudeau administration explain why it has not sent Zhao yet. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said on Thursday that the government has not yet taken a decision.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to say on Friday whether his government plans to expel Zhao.
“This is a big step, not a small step, to expel diplomats. It’s a step that must be taken considering all the possible consequences and all the very clear messages it will send,” Trudeau said.
“This is something that (Joly) is looking at very carefully, looking at all the information around it, and she’ll make a decision in due course.”
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The government can expel Zhao at any time – legally, it does not even have to give a reason for the move. It would simply do this by declaring Zhao persona non grata, a Latin phrase meaning “person not welcome.”
Canada is a signatory to the Vienna Convention of 1961, a treaty of the United Nations. Article nine of the treaty says that a country “may, at any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the Sending State that the Head of Mission or any member of the mission’s diplomatic staff is persona non grata” .
Canada can also declare a foreign diplomat persona non grata prior to their arrival in this country.
Expulsion is often a country’s only option for punishing a foreign diplomat. Article 31 of the Vienna Convention grants diplomats immunity from criminal charges and in most civil cases while on secondment abroad.
Canada has expelled diplomats from a number of countries over the years.
In 2018, Canada expelled four Russian diplomats and rejected three Russian requests for additional diplomatic staff. Then-Secretary of State Chrystia Freeland cited a nerve agent attack on a Russian dissident in the United Kingdom as the reason for the decision. The move was made in consultation with a number of allies.
In 2013, under then Secretary of State John Baird, Canada has expelled an Eritrean diplomat, Semere Ghebremariam O. Micael. He was the head of the Consulate General of Eritrea in Toronto. Media outlets had reported that O. Micael was allegedly asking for a “diaspora tax” on Eritreans in Canada.
“The Eritrean government is welcome to propose another candidate to represent it in Canada, but that person must be willing to play by the rules. Our resolve on this matter should not be further tested,” Baird said in a press release about the eviction.
A year earlier, Canada expelled all Syrian diplomats in response to the Houla massacre during the Syrian civil war.
Syria was not the only country with which Canada broke diplomatic relations in 2012. In September of that year, the government declared all Iranian diplomats persona non grata, closed the Iranian embassy in Ottawa, and closed the Canadian embassy in Tehran.
“Canada’s position on the regime in Iran is well known. Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today,” Baird said. said in a press release.
“The Iranian regime has shown blatant disregard for the Vienna Convention and the guarantee of protection of diplomatic personnel.”
This building once housed the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa. Canada expelled Iranian diplomats in 2013. (Felix Desroches/Radio Canada)
Andrei Knyazev, a Russian diplomat based in Ottawa, drove his car onto a sidewalk in 2001, killing one pedestrian and seriously injuring another. Knyazev refused a breathalyzer, citing diplomatic immunity. Canada subsequently expelled him and the Russian Foreign Ministry fired him.
A Moscow court found Knyazev guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced him to four years in prison.
Knyazev’s case preceded two similar incidents involving diplomats and drunk driving, including a 2002 case in which Japan recalled a diplomat charged with drunk driving.
Canada expelled two Chinese diplomats in the 1970s after Canada established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1970. organizations.
