Thoughts on BC Politics and More

In what may prove the most self-defeating act of Canadian diplomacy in a generation, the Carney government’s overture toward a trade deal with China signals a dangerous retreat from the Western alliance — and from reality itself. This latest flirtation with Beijing marks another profound miscalculation in Canadian foreign policy, compounding the diplomatic damage already inflicted by its ill-timed recognition of a Palestinian state. Taken together, these moves suggest a government adrift from the geopolitical realities shaping the 21st century: a world defined not by moral posturing or mercantilist improvisation, but by alliance discipline, deterrence credibility, and economic security within a rapidly fragmenting rules-based order. At the strategic level, the notion that Canada can meaningfully diversify its trade toward the People’s Republic of China is detached from history ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

... research sums up the chilling experiences of 25 Canadian community leaders from Chinese, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Tibetan, Uyghur, and Falun Gong backgrounds. They found 85 percent of respondents reported direct threats against Canadian activists, deployed by Beijing’s proxies to intimidate and control these communities. Eighty percent noted coercive threats targeting family members in China, 70 percent identified political pressure, and 75 percent observed financial incentives swaying community members. Nearly half of respondents experienced harassment—including threatening phone calls and online abuse—at least monthly ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Crashing through the thin ice of plausible deniability Perjury. Noun. The crime of telling lies when you have promised to tell the truth. In the absence of a specific amicus brief from one of the intervenors in the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, or a ruling from Marie-Josée Hogue herself, I’m going to leave the incendiary question of perjury wide open ... CLICK HERE for the full story

. . . As Ottawa’s Foreign Interference Commission starts this week with a mandate to discover whether China interfered in the past two federal elections, the documents obtained by Bell and reviewed by The Bureau, broadly confirm much of the reporting on China’s interference started by Global News in November 2022, and later followed by Globe and Mail reporters in Ottawa. Much of the leaked, sensitive evidence that informed those reports — and continues to be collected and reported on by The Bureau — stems from the challenges that Canadian intelligence agents say they face, in providing documented alerts and in-person “defensive briefs” to senior Canadian politicians regarding their vulnerability to influence agents from China . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

... “(O)ur adversaries and competitors actively and aggressively strive to enhance their own capabilities, knowledge, and expertise by harnessing Canada’s experiences and those of our allies,” the statement says. “All Defence Team members, civilian and military, serving and retired, must be alive to this stark reality. This is real.” The statement comes three weeks after the RCMP announced it is investigating former RCAF training Chinese fighter pilots – which also follows a report from last year that Beijing was looking to recruit pilots from NATO countries ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Beijing “strongly deplores” Canada’s foreign interference inquiry, and the Chinese embassy is warning of “consequences” if the country does not drop its “ideological bias.” The comments from the Chinese embassy in Canada come after the federal government announced the public inquiry Thursday, tapping a Quebec judge to lead the probe after a months-long search. Allegations of Chinese foreign interference in Canadian elections and society have dominated the political scene in Ottawa for much of the year; the new inquiry will probe not only Beijing, but Russia as well as other foreign states and non-state actors during the 2019 and 2021 general elections at the national and electoral district levels. “On Sept. 7, the Canadian Government announced the launch of a public inquiry into foreign interference by China and other countries, and continued to hype up the lies of the so-called ‘China’s interference in Canada’s internal affairs.’ China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this,” an em...

Things just keep going from bad to worse .... and all our Canadian Prime Minister can do is wring his hands and ask the United Stated to have a school yard fight with the Chinese and take a round out of them for us. In an earlier post today, with regards to China a being a reception sponsor at the Union of BC Municipalities, I noted the comments of Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West who commented:   To state it plainly: The Government of China is engaged in a number of actions that are hostile to our country's interests and the interests of every Canadian, and are completely at odds with our values, the rule of law and the very principles that we were all elected to uphold ...   West then went on to list a number of well-know issues Canada is having with China, and which have been labelled as phony and manufactured. This includes the arrest of two Canadians being held in detention with little to no access to lawyers ... Pork-gate ... Canola-gate ... His letter to th...