Former intelligence officer calls on Canada to expel more Chinese diplomats

OTTAWA –

A former intelligence officer with Canada’s spy agency is calling on the federal government to kick out more Chinese diplomats, saying they have too big a presence in the country.

Michel Juneau-Katsuya says the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has known since the mid-1990s that Conservative and Liberal governments have been compromised by China.

Juneau-Katsuya, testifying today at a House of Commons committee studying foreign interference, says political parties have also been compromised.

Earlier this week, the Liberal government expelled a Chinese diplomat whom CSIS alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate a Conservative MP and his relatives in Hong Kong in 2021.

Juneau-Katsuya says it’s a step in the right direction but not enough, and there’s no reason to have so many remaining Chinese diplomats in Canada.

Global Affairs Canada says that as of March 16, there were 178 registered diplomats accredited to Beijing’s embassy and consulates in Canada, and an additional five accredited to the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2023.