Burton: As Canada scrambles for options, beware the temptation of China

As Canada scrambles for options, beware the temptation of China

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-as-canada-scrambles-for-options-beware-the-temptation-of-china/

China will come in, dangling its version of a lifeline: Let’s hit the reset button, put aside our past differences and generate economic benefits for all. Beijing knows Canada will be desperate for access to China’s vast market and will require our compliance with Chinese conditions – ones that will be as onerous as anything Mr. Trump hopes to extract from us.

Beijing has its own “Make China Great Again” agenda, expanding its grip throughout the world.

Burton: Trudeau’s exit --- A turning point for Canada’s stance on China and foreign interference

Burton: Trudeau’s exit --- A turning point for Canada’s stance on China and foreign interference 

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/trudeaus-exit-a-turning-point-for-canada-s-stance-on-china-and-foreign-interference/article_886e3508-cec5-11ef-a516-0b7bc2ad669b.html

Last June, after much foot-dragging, Bill C-70 — which sets the framework for a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry — was finally enacted. Today, seven months later, the government website still notes, “The coming into force date of the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act (FITAA), which creates the Foreign Influence Transparency Registry, will be set by the Governor-in-Council in the coming months.” Those months presumably will not be coming while Justin Trudeau remains a lame-duck prime minister.

But what should be most alarming to Canadians was the government’s refusal to respond to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ revelation, also last June, that 11 members of Parliament “have wittingly or unwittingly colluded with foreign governments.”

Rather than making sure the 11 are made accountable before they ask voters to support them in another election, the government instead refuses to let Canadians know the identity of these possibly compromised parliamentarians, saying — incredibly — that such revelations would threaten national security.