On Monday, Mark Carney stood by the Liberal candidate for Markham–Unionville
On Monday, Mark Carney stood by the Liberal candidate for Markham–Unionville
On Monday, Mark Carney stood by the Liberal candidate for Markham–Unionville
OTTAWA — The Royal Canadian Mounted Police says it is ‘looking into’ Liberal MP Paul Chiang’s suggestion to hand over a Conservative candidate to Chinese authorities to collect a lucrative bounty to see if they are of a criminal nature.
In a statement sent Monday evening, RCMP spokesperson Kristine Kelly said foreign interference, including instances of transnational repression, continue to be a “pervasive threat in Canada” and the federal police takes all reports and allegations seriously.
“The RCMP is looking into the matter, however no specific details can be provided at this time,” said Kelly when asked if there would be an investigation into Chiang’s comments.
“To ensure the integrity of our investigations, the RCMP typically does not disclose information relating to investigations unless criminal charges are laid, rendering it a matter of public record,” she added in the statement.
This new development is coming after pro-democracy group Hong Kong Watch sent a letter to RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme, urging him to open an investigation to determine if Chiang’s comments may have been unlawful.
Ed Simpson, the group’s interim director, opined that Chiang breached the Criminal Code as well as the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act by suggesting the kidnapping of Conservative candidate Joe Tay this past January.
“As Canadians prepare to vote on April 28, you must provide reassurance that the RCMP is capable of countering foreign interference,” wrote Simpson.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney said he will not be dropping Paul Chiang from the race in Markham–Unionville, where he is running to be re-elected for a second term.
Carney said earlier that he was “deeply offended” by Chiang’s comments and said they demonstrated a “terrible lapse in judgment,” but believes the episode amounts to a “teachable moment.”
“This is a person of integrity who served his community, as a senior police officer for … more than a quarter of a century,” he said during a campaign announcement in Vaughan, Ont., on Monday. “He’s made a terrible lapse in judgment.”
“He’s made his apology. He’s made it to the public, he’s made it to the individual concerned, he’s made it directly to me, and he’s going to continue with his candidacy.
“He has my confidence.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the situation is indeed a “teachable moment,” but not the way Carney intended those words.
“It teaches us that Mark Carney will never stand up for Canada,” Poilievre said on the sidelines of an event in Saint John, N.B.
“If Mark Carney won’t stand up for a Canadian against this foreign hostile regime now, how could we ever expect him to stand up for Canada after the election?”
The federal Liberal party has been facing mounting pressure to drop Chiang as a candidate ever since his comments about his Conservative rival were revealed last week.
Tay, a former resident of Hong Kong, had been charged under Hong Kong’s widely condemned national security law for running a YouTube channel in Canada that was critical of its Beijing-dominated government.
Tay was, until recently, vying for the Conservative nomination in Chiang’s Markham–Unionville constituency; he’s now running in Don Valley North instead.
At a news conference with Chinese-language media in January, Chiang suggested the Hong Kong criminal charge would cause a “great controversy” if Tay were elected to Parliament, according to the Ming Pao newspaper. Then he went further.
“If you can take him to the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto, you can get the million-dollar reward,” the Liberal MP suggested to laughter from his audience.
The bounty, which is $1 million in Hong Kong dollars, amounts to $183,000 in Canadian currency.
Chiang apologized profusely on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, on Friday, hours after his comments came to light.
“The comments I made were deplorable and a complete lapse of judgment on the seriousness of the matter,” he wrote. “I sincerely apologize and deeply regret my comments.
“I will always continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong in their fight to safeguard their human rights and freedoms.”
Government officials who are tasked with identifying and responding to foreign threats during the election have also said they have been closely monitoring the situation.
“What we saw was the news of the bounty was sort of re-upped, but we’re just watching the open space for anything related to that,” said Larisa Galadza, head of Global Affairs Canada’s Rapid Response Mechanism, in a briefing to media on Monday.
“That alone, I think, is a form of coercion. Spreading, again, the information about the bounty is precisely how malign foreign states seek to silence, harass and coerce.”
Tay put out a statement on Monday saying that the situation has left him fearing for his safety, adding that he had been in touch with the RCMP regarding his personal protection.
The RCMP said it “does not disclose information related to protective measures, nor confirm individuals who may be designated to receive protective services.”
“I want to be clear: no apology is sufficient. Threats like these are the tradecraft of the Chinese Communist Party to interfere in Canada,” Tay said.
“And they are not just aimed at me. They are intended to send a chilling signal to the entire community in order to force compliance to Beijing’s political goals.”
Tay said Carney must fire Chiang as the Liberal candidate in Markham–Unionville.
Jenny Kwan, the incumbent NDP MP for Vancouver East, has been targeted by Beijing for speaking out against human rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
At a campaign event on Sunday, Kwan called Chiang’s comments “absolutely astounding” but fell short of asking the Liberals to remove him as a candidate.
“He is a police officer, and he ought to know that when the CCP went out and put a bounty on anybody, including Canadians, that cannot be acceptable,” she said.
“That is intimidation at its worst.”
National Post with additional reporting from Tom Blackwell and Christopher Nardi
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