Conservatives accused of ‘character assassination’ against Trudeau during debate on Beijing threats to MP

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OTTAWA — A Liberal MP accused Conservatives of engaging in “character assassination” of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the House of Commons debated allegations that China tried to intimidate MP Michael Chong and his family back in Hong Kong in 2021.

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In a surprising turn of events, the Speaker recognized on Monday that the threats constituted a violation of Chong’s rights as an MP and agreed that the issue must take precedence over all other parliamentary affairs at this time.

On Tuesday, Conservative MPs blasted the government for its handling of the foreign interference file and wondered why the government did not tell their colleague about the threats against him and his family two years ago.

They also implied that Trudeau was in fact aware of the situation concerning Chong, even though Trudeau has repeatedly said he did not know about it until he read it in the Globe and Mail on May 1.

“I can tell you that this debate is more about character assassination of the prime minister than it is about defending the rights (of an MP), based on speeches I’ve been hearing in the last few hours,” said Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux.

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“As we continue with the debate, as they continue to want to ramp up and politicize this, it’s more about the character assassination of the prime minister than it is about the issue,” he said.

Bloc Québécois House leader Alain Therrien said the Conservatives have every right to be frustrated with the government, since one of their MPs was targeted by the Chinese government in 2021 and that information was withheld from him by the government for all this time.

NDP MP Charlie Angus accused Lamoureux of turning this debate into a “gong show.”

“The real question is, why do Canadians continually have to shame our government into action?” asked Conservative MP Ryan Williams.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said it is “entirely plausible” that the information from CSIS was not passed on to the Prime Minister’s Office and therefore that it never made it to Trudeau as he has claimed.

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Conservative MP Todd Doherty disagreed with May and said he cannot envision a scenario in which the prime minister is not made aware of national security threats.

All opposition parties, however, agreed that the allegations of Beijing intimidating an MP and interfering in the last two federal elections should be investigated by a public inquiry.

The federal government has asked former governor general David Johnston to act as a “special rapporteur” and determine by May 23 whether a public inquiry or any other “mechanisms or transparent processes” are necessary.

A motion passed by all opposition parties earlier this week also called on the government to expel all Chinese diplomats involved in threatening elected officials, launch a foreign agent registry and close all the alleged Chinese overseas “police stations” in Canada.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly announced on Monday that Zhao Wei, the diplomat involved in targeting Chong and his family, was persona non grata in Canada. In response, Beijing said on Tuesday it would expel Canadian diplomat Jennifer Lynn Lalonde.

“We understand there is retaliation, but we will not be intimidated and we will continue to do everything necessary to keep Canadians protected from foreign interference,” said Trudeau.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Liberals and the NDP successfully voted to adjourn the debate after 12 hours.