Ever since Justin Trudeau told a “Ladies Night” fundraiser in 2013 that he admires China’s “basic dictatorship” the Liberal leader has been teased and mocked for the comments.
The mocking isn’t funny anymore as Canadian lives are on the line in China and Trudeau’s government is starting to imitate the regime in Beijing by trying to silence critics. Two former senior diplomats have come forward to say that officials called to ask them to stop contradicting the government in public on China and to “get with the program.”
That would be fine if either David Mulroney or Guy Saint-Jacques were still employed by the government but they aren’t. They are former diplomats now living out their lives as private citizens and offering their expertise on China to the media when asked.
The two have commented on the detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, detained by China on trumped up charges. They have also commented on the deteriorating relations caused by the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou last December, the incident that led to the arrests of Spavor and Kovrig.
There is no doubt the former bureaucrats know what they are talking about. Mulroney served as Canada’s ambassador to China from 2009-12 while Saint-Jacques served from 2012-16.
In reports by the Globe and Mail, both men describe the calls as odd and out of place.
“Especially having served in China and knowing how they try to control messaging there,” Saint-Jacques said.
Both men were called by Paul Thoppil, an assistant deputy minister at Global Affairs Canada.
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