Conservative foreign-affairs critic Michael Chong rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
OTTAWA – Conservative member of Parliament Michael Chong says Ottawa should have informed him about potential threats to his family made by China’s government.
Chong released a statement after the Globe and Mail reported, citing a top-secret document and an anonymous national security source, that China’s intelligence service sought to target the MP and his family.
The former cabinet minister currently serves as the Tories’ foreign-affairs critic and routinely criticizes the regime in Beijing for its human-rights record and its alleged attempts to meddle in Canada’s affairs.
Chong says in a statement today that like other Canadians, he has family overseas – and any attempts to threaten them in an attempt to intimidate or coerce people in Canada constitutes a national threat.
Chong says the Canadian Security Intelligence Service never briefed him about any threats made against him or his family, adding he believes that is because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office did not authorize such a warning.
Trudeau’s office and the security agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment and The Canadian Press has not independently verified the allegations published in the Globe and Mail.
China sanctioned Chong in 2021, barring him from entering the county and prohibiting Chinese citizens from conducting business with him.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.
