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Canadian trade minister raises concern with her support for organization linked to Chinese gov’t – LifeSite

OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Federal Trade Minister Mary Ng was mum after being confronted about her endorsement of a Canadian organization considered a front of the Communist Party of China (CCP).

At a House of Commons ethics committee meeting last week, Ng did not comment about her public endorsement of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO), a group that is considered a front for the CCP.

Ng’s praise of the CTCCO, as reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, comes amid the ever-growing scandal of alleged election meddling in Canada by agents of the CCP.

Ng is one of four Liberal MPs who have publicly endorsed the CTCCO.

Records also show that at least three other Toronto-area Liberal MPs have endorsed the Confederation’s work: Shaun Chen (Scarborough North), Han Dong (Don Valley North) and Majid Jowhari (Richmond Hill).

Toronto filmmaker Cheuk Kwan said in testimony as co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China at the ethics committee meeting that China’s “interference in Canada has been soft, intangible and gradual,” and that this is “but the tip of the iceberg.”

“As a result, this buildup over the years remains invisible to many Canadians,” he added.

As noted by Kwan, organizations such as the CTCCO are “urged on and supported by Chinese consulates,” and are then “set up by individuals sympathetic to the regime.”

“Chief among them are the National Congress of Chinese Canadians, NCCC, and its successor the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations,” Kwan said.

According to Kwan, CCP-linked organizations along with many other “proxy organizations practice the art of astroturfing, echoing the party line to defend China’s foreign and domestic policies.”

Kwan then added that such CCP-linked groups engage “friendly academics and business people to advocate on its behalf.”

“China also spreads its tentacles to cultivate elected officials and infiltrate political institutions at all levels of Canadian society,” he added.

Ng has attended Confederation events, but her office did not comment on the reasons for her presence, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

Last week, LifeSiteNews highlighted how two new reports from Canada’s national security agency reveal that the Communist Chinese government was allegedly funding Canadian political candidates in the 2019 federal election.

Also last week, under mounting pressure to investigate the alleged CCP interference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would be appointing an “independent special rapporteur” but declined to launch a full, public inquiry.

Trudeau’s refusal to launch a public inquiry comes even though MPs from all opposition parties agreed last week that they are in favor of such an investigation.

CCP linked groups ‘harass and intimidate Canadians’ critical of the Communist gov’t

According to Kwan, CCP-affiliated groups “harass and intimidate Canadians who are critical of China.”

“You get a phone call in the middle day asking, ‘So, how are your parents doing back in Sichuan, China?’” he said.

Kwan then noted that one then gets a message with additional threats.

“If you don’t behave, your parents’ phone numbers, address or even their physical well-being is under threat,” Kwan said.

“It’s a very subtle threat. They have used this on many, many Chinese-Canadians.”

Conservative MP Damien Kurek asked Kwan how “common” it was that such CCP intimidation tactics took place.

Kwan replied that it is “very commonly known.”

“We’ve seen a lot of this on the ground. Many of these have not been reported, or if they were reported to local police or the RCMP they would not be handled,” he added.

Trudeau gov’t delays a proposed registry of Canadians working as paid agents for foreign gov’ts

Despite calls from Senators, MPs, and others to act on cracking down on Canadian paid agents working for foreign governments, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced that a registry of paid agents will be delayed for months.

Mendicino told reporters last Friday that it is “important that we bring all Canadians along, including members of the Chinese-Canadian community who have reason to be concerned given the history of the way in which these powers can be abused.”

He then announced that Trudeau’s Cabinet will ask the public to complete an online questionnaire regarding a registry of paid agents, which will delay the registry’s introduction.

Mendicino was pressed by reporters when the registry of agents would be up and running.

“As soon as we can have this consultation,” Mendicino said.

Mendicino said last month that such a registry needs to be done in a “culturally sensitive” manner.

“To deal with threats to national security, we need agencies to be inclusive, diverse and culturally sensitive so Canadians can have trust and confidence that as we are taking actions to mitigate against threats to national security,” he said.

In January, LifeSiteNews reported on a Department of Public Safety memo that showed certain high-profile Canadian politicians and other VIPs as potentially being under the pay of hostile “foreign states,” including China.

In light of all this, Conservative Senator Leo Housakos introduced Bill S-237, formally titled “An Act to Establish the Foreign Influence Registry and to amend the Criminal Code,” that seeks to make it so all federal lobbyists who receive funds from a “foreign government, an individual or entity related to a foreign government” must disclose any payments as well as names of clients. Failure to comply would result in a $200,000 fine along with a two-year jail term.

However, Bill S-237 has languished in the Senate.

Chinese Canadians welcome a Foreign Agents Registration Act, says Kwan

According to Kwan, the federal government should immediately put in place a Foreign Agents Registration Act to disclose potential CCP agents.

“The Chinese-Canadian community and other people welcome this registry,” he said. “This line that setting up a registry is an attack on the Chinese-Canadian community I will not buy.”

“This is a standard line given by the Chinese Communist Party. They are using the same line.”

As for Ng, she claimed there needs to be “responsibility to ensure that we are not unfairly or unintentionally creating a cloud that hovers over an entire community that is feeling incredibly uncertain and who have felt the discomfort of unconscious bias.”

The potential interference by foreign agents has many Canadians concerned, especially considering Trudeau’s past praise for China’s “basic dictatorship” and his labeling of the dictatorial nation as his favorite country other than his own.

While the overall scandal has been brewing for some time, the issue really took off on February 17 when the Globe and Mail, citing Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents, reported that “an orchestrated machine was operating in Canada with two primary aims: to ensure that a minority Liberal government was returned in 2021, and that certain Conservative candidates identified by China were defeated.”

Matters were made worse on February 24 when Global News broke a story that showed that Trudeau was made aware of these allegations but did not take any action.

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