Coalition Open Letter to PM Trudeau 聯盟向杜魯多總理發公開信

Dear Prime Minister,

We write this Open Letter to you as members of the Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China ^[*], a coalition of Canadian civil society organizations dedicated to ensuring there is strong attention to human rights in Canada’s relationship with China.

Canada’s relationship with China is certainly one of the most crucial foreign policy priorities you face as Prime Minister. That relationship is a very important one for many reasons, including economic, security and geopolitical considerations. So too, the many challenges and concerns about China’s human rights record, interference in Canadian democratic processes, and transnational repression require very serious and deliberate attention. It is our hope therefore that a comprehensive policy implementation strategy will be developed to ensure that advancing stronger human rights protection will be central to that relationship and will extend across the entire range of dealings between Canada and China.

Members of several of the organizations involved in our coalition have long been the focus of Chinese state-sponsored menace and harassment. In fact, we documented those serious concerns, along with a number of recommended actions, in comprehensive reports provided to your government in 2017 and 2020. We have been disappointed by the minimal response to those two reports and the failure to take up any of our recommendations. Meanwhile our members have continued to face deeply troubling intimidation and interference.

It is important that the Government of Canada cease to tolerate such activities of Chinese diplomats in Canada, which are clearly inconsistent with their legitimate function as defined by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Similarly, the Chinese state’s use of proxies to spread toxic disinformation and intimidate diaspora members in Canada must be much more actively addressed through legal prosecution and other measures.

We are pleased that Canada will be raising concerns that transnational repression undermines sovereignty and democratic values at the upcoming G-7. We would welcome further engagement with the government regarding the opportunity presented by those G-7 meetings.

We do, however, have serious concerns over the reception of the Hogue Commission report and the Government’s long delay in implementation of Bill C-70’s requirements to appoint a Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner and implement the Foreign Influence and Transparency Registry.

The Hogue report is already being portrayed in some quarters as having suggested the whole issue was overblown, wildly exaggerated, misreported – as if to suggest that, if it were, foreign interference is not an issue, or not a serious enough one that it should have troubled the Government of Canada unduly. Downplaying the impact of hostile interference, infiltration, and influence in Canada not only undermines the gravity of the threat but also sends a dangerous message—whether intentionally or not—that such activities can continue unchecked. A hostile regime will interpret this complacency as an indirect green light. The Commissioner’s assertion that “we have a robust and resilient system” to handle it risks fostering a false sense of security—one that adversaries are all too ready to exploit. These characterizations of the report, however, overlook the many clear conclusions the Commissioner reached that foreign interference is a grave concern that must be taken seriously. We can attest to that directly and very personally, as many of us did in our testimony at the Inquiry.

We urge that the Government responsibly address all 51 recommendations of the Foreign Interference Commission. It is important that they be directly incorporated into the regulations and operationalization of the Countering Foreign Interference Act, Bill C-70. We urge that the recommendations from our 2017 and 2020 reports be given careful consideration as well. Among other actions to be taken we urge that your government prioritize the following:

• ensure that CSIS establishes protocols for consulting closely with diaspora groups when a threat of foreign interference is detected;
• appoint a Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner and implement the Foreign Influence and Transparency Registry;
• put in place measures beyond those called for under Recommendation 33 of the Hogue Report for drawing the line between legitimate diplomatic activity and foreign interference, notably by declaring diplomats whose activities violate diplomatic protocols to be persona non grata, and announcing such actions publicly so as to maximize the deterrent effect;
• publicize a timeline for development of a whole-of-government Foreign Interference Strategy per Recommendation 8 of the Hogue Report, including the proposal in Recommendation 11 to establish a “government entity to monitor the domestic open-source online information environment for misinformation and disinformation that could impact Canadian democratic processes” which must be mandated to work closely with diaspora communities; and
• make greater use of preventive, disruptive and punitive measures such as regulatory sanctions, financial intervention, immigration inadmissibility and community policing as means for combating foreign interference.

We would welcome an opportunity to meet to discuss our concerns and recommendations further.

Sincerely,

[ signature ]
Alex Neve, O.C.
Senior Fellow, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa
on behalf of the Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China

C.C.
Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Honourable David McGuinty, Minister of Public Safety

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[*] This letter is endorsed by the following members of the Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China: Canada-Hong Kong Link, Canada Tibet Committee, Falun Dafa Association of Canada, Federation for a Democratic China, Toronto Association for Democracy in China, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, and the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement in China.