Politics This Morning: Sajjan in Brussels

Good Friday morning. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Guelph, Ont. today. He'll make a housing announcement alongside Housing Minister AHMED HUSSEN this morning. Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER will announce something to do with post-graduation work permits today in Etobicoke, Ont. He'll star in a Liberal Party fundraiser in Mississauga alongside local Liberal RECHIE VALDEZ this evening. Fraser has been on a mission to bring more workers into Canada by various means, and this may be another step in his plan. Economists aren't so sure he's on the right track—you can read all about it under today's "In the news" section—but we'll have to wait and see what's he proposes today. International Development Minister HARJIT SAJJAN is representing Canada overseas today. We'll get to that in our "What's the cabinet up to" segment below. But first... Yuen Pau Woo weighs in Senator YUEN PAU WOO probably had an inkling that he’d be getting most of the questions at a press conference he hosted yesterday with fellow Senator VICTOR OH and TERESA WOO-PAW, a former Alberta cabinet minister who now chairs an advocacy group for Chinese-Canadians. The presser was set up to draw attention to an exhibit and live-streamed ceremony the trio is organizing to honour the history and contributions of Chinese Canadians this June, 100 years on from the passage of a federal law that discriminated against Chinese immigrants. Woo recently posted a tweet in which he warned that a foreign agent registry—now being proposed to deal with a political interference campaign by the Chinese government—could “become a modern form of Chinese exclusion,” and referenced the 100-year-old law. He spent nearly the entire press conference fielding questions about that statement, the proposed registry, and whether he himself has any unsavoury connections to the Chinese Communist Party. Woo is a three-dimensional character in a largely two-dimensional drama playing out about Canada and China. He is of Chinese descent, but was born in Malaysia, raised in Singapore, and educated in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. He has argued that the Senate should not condemn China’s bully tactics in the South China Sea, because doing so would undermine Canada’s geopolitical interests. He has called China an “illiberal, authoritarian state,” while arguing that the Senate should not condemn the Chinese government for its systemic abuse of the Uyghur minority. He is a former head of the Asia Pacific Foundation, but has spent the bulk of his time and energy in the Senate devoted to domestic and parliamentary affairs, as the former leader of the Independent Senators Group. Senator Yuen Pau Woo worked as a central banker and advocate for closer ties with Pacific nations before his appointment to the Senate. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Yesterday, he said he supported a Canadian crackdown on any foreign government intervention in Canada that relied on coercion, corruption, or covert activity—potentially including a foreign agent registry—but argued that it would be wrong to pursue a solution that would stigmatize Chinese-Canadians who are involved with community groups funded by the Chinese government. “An overly-broad registry that forces individuals to register because of where they come from, because of what they think, and because of who they affiliate with would probably go too far,” he said. That last bit is where things might get tricky, if one believes the numerous reports recently (and less recently) about the way in which the Chinese government relies upon (and funds) like-minded members of its diaspora to further its interests. Woo made a point several times of encouraging Canadians to participate in the government’s consultation about a foreign agent registry. Meanwhile, as the government mulls how to create this registry, its new point man for the issue finds himself under fire... Conservatives trash Johnston It’s a rare moment when PTM is caught out as insufficiently cynical about the state of federal politics. Yesterday was one of those moments. PTM assured you, dear reader, that former governor general DAVID JOHNSTON was an unimpeachable choice to serve as special rapporteur for foreign election interference—specifically, that he had “credibility in spades” and had emerged from his time as governor general “without enemies on either side of the aisle.” PTM hadn’t heard a nasty word said about the former GG—right up until yesterday, when JENNI BYRNE, one of Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE’s closest advisers, and JASRAJ SINGH HALLAN, the Conservative Party finance critic, went after Johnston on Twitter. https://twitter.com/Jenni_Byrne/status/1636106039371128832 https://twitter.com/jasrajshallan/status/1636156334553931778 The party itself is already running digital ads declaring Johnston to be a “Liberal insider” who will “cover up for Trudeau.” Johnston was, of course, Conservative prime minister STEPHEN HARPER’s choice to serve as governor general in 2010. Harper asked Johnston to stay on the job for longer than usual in 2015, praising him as an “exceptional” governor general. Then-prime minister Stephen Harper looks on as governor general David Johnston delivers his Throne Speech in 2011. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright That was then, and this is now. Those dollars aren’t going to raise themselves. In the news The government’s push to ramp up immigration has drawn warnings from economists who specialize in studying labour and immigration. Find out why, by reading here. There are new faces in Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER’s office. Check out the latest in LAURA RYCKEWAERT’s Hill Climbers column. What’s the cabinet up to? International Development Minister HARJIT SAJJAN is in Brussels today. On behalf of Canada, he is serving as a co-host of an international conference “in solidarity with Venezuelan refugees and migrants and their host countries and communities.” This is day two of the conference. Sajjan will take questions from the media in an online press conference scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Ottawa time. Of the 60,158 refugee claims referred to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board last year, just 982 came from Venezuelans. The IRB accepted 550 Venezuelan claimants as refugees, and rejected 103. It has yet to decide upon more than 1,000 claims from Venezuelans. Of the more than 300,000 applications for permanent residency made in Canada last year, just shy of 2,000 came from Venezuelans, according to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA will highlight cash “to strengthen our supply chain” during a stop in Surrey, B.C., today. DAN VANDAL, the minister responsible for economic subsidies in the Prairies, and Associate Finance Minister RANDY BOISSONNAULT will hold a presser in Edmonton to announce federal funding for the domestic production of medicines. Rural Minister GUDIE HUTCHINGS will announce funding for internet service in rural Saskatchewan. What else is happening today? Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE is holding a press conference in Vancouver at 9:30 a.m. local time. MPs on a subcommittee of the House Environment Committee will also huddle behind closed doors this afternoon to discuss committee business. NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is visiting a Portuguese cultural centre in Toronto. Send your news tips to pmazereeuw@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Sajjan in Brussels

Plus, an immigration announcement coming in Etobicoke.

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Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Sajjan in Brussels

Plus, an immigration announcement coming in Etobicoke.

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