Ottawa, ON — In a shocking move, Trudeau’s environment minister is travelling to Beijing, where he formally sits as executive vice chairman on a body established and controlled by the Communist Party. It is clear Justin Trudeau’s government has not learnt any lessons from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) now that he’s doubled down, gifting over $16 million of Canadians’ tax dollars to Beijing to secure Guilbeault’s position.
The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) serves the interests of Beijing – not Canada.
Even more concerning is the fact that Ding Xuexiang, Xi Jinping’s second in command and most trusted aide, serves as chairman of CCICED while simultaneously sitting on the Communist Party’s “Central Committee Political Bureau.”
For Ding and the CCICED, the interests of Beijing’s Communist Party come first. Canada should not lend its credibility to this organization.
We recognize the need to meet with officials from large, powerful countries, even if we strongly disagree with those countries on issues such as human rights, but Canada’s leaders should not hold formal positions in groups run by foreign governments. Minister Guilbeault should immediately resign his position on Beijing’s CCICED and end all funding to this communist-led organization.
If Minister Guilbeault insists on travelling to Beijing, he should firmly and vocally denounce Beijing’s interference in Canada’s democracy.
Justin Trudeau’s government routinely lectures Canadians, provincial governments, and democratic allies about the climate impacts of just living their daily lives – from heating their homes, driving to work and even on plastic bags. Given this, we fully expect Minister Guilbeault to be vocal over Beijing’s seemingly unabetted expansion of coal electricity generation. Instead of supporting organizations run by the Communist Party in Beijing, Minister Guilbeault should be focused on ensuring Canada’s clean LNG can help countries dependant on coal to drastically reduce their emissions – including China, the world’s largest emitter.