The Canadian Mandate for Relations with Beijing

 

Dominic Barton,  (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

"[I was given a mandate that included an overall objective of restoring relations between Canada and China, one caveat and three key priorities]. First and foremost, secure the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and get clemency for Robert Schellenberg. That is core. That's a priority. Second, promote and protect human rights."

"[The third priority is to deepen person-to-person relationships between Chinese and Canadian people at all levels, including government, the arts, business and universities, and caveat is that those efforts must be made in keeping with] international rules and principles that provide predictability and security."

"We're angry. We're very angry because of our people that had been taken. China is very angry as well, furious. We're both furious."  

"The first conversation I had there was probably one of the most unpleasant conversations I've ever had. I mean, the shaking and anger from there, and we were also … It wasn't a conversation." 

"We're never going to be singing from the same hymn book. We did not have any formal communications, it was a lot of informal, we now have very good formal relations. We have real discussions where we can argue and debate."

"We're saying you need to be careful on the Chinese side because we are a high quality, safe food supplier."

"From a financial point of view, I think it was [former Liberal deputy prime minister] John Manley who said, 'This is the stupidest economic decision I could ever make in my life'. [His history of business dealings with China and the suggestions by Democracy Watch and others that those dealings put him in a conflict of interest]. I did it for public service. I want to help. I feel I can help the country."

Canadian Ambassador to China, Dominic Barton  ...
House of Commons committee on Canada-China relations

 

"The military and diplomats were at odds over the People's Liberation Army training program [and diplomats were concerned the decision to cancel the exercise] might aggravate Beijing."

CBC report

 

"Unfortunately, Canada is no stranger to the complex influence game McKinsey plays with China."

"Before becoming Canada's ambassador to China, Dominic Barton went from serving on the advisory board of the China Development Bank to running McKinsey's global operations."

Senator Marco Rubio, chair, Senate intelligence committee, United States 

The Government of Justin Trudeau is as Liberal as it's possible to be. He, and his government are following in the footsteps of Canada's previous Liberal government headed by then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien who, while prime minister primed relations between himself personally and China's business establishment, using his public service office as a springboard to groom personal relations with influential Chinese government officials and business elite. Mr. Chretien led large trade missions to China influencing his future as a private citizen joining a prestigious law firm and using his contacts to enlarge business contacts with China. 

 

It was, after all, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Justin's father who as Liberal prime minister in the '70s opened relations with China to begin with. It was likely an influence on son Justin who has spoken admiringly of China's 'basic dictatorship' that can turn on a dime. Well yes, dictatorships specialize in such manner. When Dominic Barton was selected last year as Canadian ambassador to China, that choice had a clear agenda for the Liberals; to mend broken fences at any cost, for much depended on it. That 'much' would be enhanced trade opportunities and investment, not strengthening Canada's sovereignty by any means.

 

Hostages Spavor and Kovrig, Xi, Trudeau

This, of course, was in the wake of Canada having arrested Huawei Communications' CFO on an extradition warrant by the U.S. Which launched a dire situation of hostage diplomacy in direct reaction by Beijing, furious at the detention of Meng Wanzhou. And nor did the arbitrary arrests of Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig on espionage charges end Beijing's lash-back; three other Canadians were sentenced to death on charges of drug smuggling, and agricultural product shipments to China from Canada were halted.

 

Canada has paid dearly for spiking Beijing's regard for a docile, biddable country that raised no protest over Chinese-Canadian citizens being harassed in Canada and threatened over their support for Hong Kong democracy, nor the infiltration by Chinese espionage agents into every sphere of Canadian life from politics to academia, along with the stealth action of cybertheft and purloining Canadian industrial and scientific formulae. Yet despite all of this, Canada felt it appropriate to invite members of the People's Liberation Army to Canada to be trained in winter warfare. And the more recent revelation that Chinese pilots are training on Canadian aircraft at a closed air force base in Ontario.

It was the head of the Canadian military, General Jonathan Vance who decided to disinvite Chinese troops for cold-weather military training in Ontario. His concern revolved around national security. Much to the displeasure of the Canadian diplomatic corps whose memoranda back and forth to the prime minister's office revealed concerns related to offending Beijing. 

China has and continues to punish Canada for its 'abuse' of international law, as China claims, even while in fact, in detaining Meng the rule of law was upheld through an extradition treaty between Canada and the United States, and due judicial process is ongoing, with Ms.Meng permitted to live in her two Vancouver mansions on bail while awaiting extradition, whereas the Canadian prisoners in China languish in solitary confinement, under harsh duress and constant interrogation, without access to lawyers and limited interventions by Canadian consular staff.

In the House of Commons on November 18, the opposition Conservatives tabled a motion for the Trudeau government to decide finally whether to ban Huawei from Canada's 5G upgrade as other members of the Five Eyes intelligence group (United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Canada) have long since done. They also demanded that the government institute measures to halt China's agents from their intimidation of Canadians both in Canada and in Hong Kong.

Ambassador Barton's assertion that Beijing would be cognizant of the quality and abundance of food crops from Canada and be compelled to reverse its ruinous contract breaches costing Canadian farmers billions of dollars in lost revenues, is out-of-this-world ridiculous; those crops are fungible; Beijing can access them elsewhere in the world, in particular from another nation it is busily harassing, Australia. In the United States a warning was issued to western governments that business with McKinsey is fraught with danger because of its alignment with the Chinese Communist Party ruling elite.

The Liberals ignored Conservative queries regarding the need to have Barton disclose his Chinese client lists in 2019 on his appointment as ambassador to China. Citing McKinsey client confidentiality, the demand was evaded although Barton had to place his investments into a blind trust. That McKinsey conducts business with 22 of China's 100 largest state-owned enterprises was revealed by the New York Times. McKinsey has aided in raising the stature of the CCP regime. As a frontman for the Liberal government and the China-boosters in Canada, Barton was the perfect candidate.

And his supporters are people of huge influence, including former prime minister Jean Chretien, the Desmarais family, Power Corporation (into which Mr. Chretien's daughter married) and the Canada China Business Council chaired by Chretien grandson Olivier Demarais. The connections read like a Liberal-Quebec who's who of business elites because that's what it all is, hungry for business with China at any cost, that cost a sell-out of Canada in exchange for trade and business and investment with China.

Human rights abuses are of no concern to this crowd, their focus is entirely on business and profit. "The weight of the world is shifting and has shifted toward Asia, so we need to do more in China", Ambassador Barton recently stated in a speech he delivered at the China Institute at the University of Alberta, urging government emphasize more robust business with China.