The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - June 11, 2021


The Winnipeg lab


Episode Stats


Length

19 minutes

Words per minute

150.59631

Word count

2,980

Sentence count

162

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

4

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode of The Blueprints, Conservative MP Michael Chong joins us to discuss the ongoing issue of the government's failure to produce documents related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the firing of two government scientists from the lab in Winnipeg.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome once again to The Blueprints. This is Canada's Conservative Podcast. I'm
00:00:10.180 your host, Jamie Schmael, Member of Parliament for Halliburton, for The Lakes Brock. We're
00:00:14.260 working hard each and every week with new content every single Tuesday, 1.30 p.m. Eastern
00:00:19.860 Time. Our hope is to become Canada's number one Conservative Podcast. In order to do that,
00:00:24.580 we need your help. We need you to like, comment, subscribe, share this content, help us push
00:00:29.900 back against the ever-moving Liberal agenda because there must be someone in your social
00:00:34.340 media network that would have someone open to hearing the Conservative message. This is one
00:00:39.080 way to do that and to ensure that Erin O'Toole is the next Prime Minister of Canada. Also, 0.77
00:00:45.080 if you can't watch or listen to the whole thing right now, you can download it later on, listen
00:00:49.420 to it on platforms like CastBox, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, you name it, it is out there.
00:00:55.140 We're going to bring back a guest. He's been on a couple of times before to kind of continue
00:00:59.360 the ongoing story. We're going to bring back Michael Chong, the Member of Parliament for
00:01:03.600 Wellington-Halton Hill. He's also the Global Affairs critic. Thank you, Michael, for coming back.
00:01:09.040 Great to be here, Jamie.
00:01:10.540 Well, unfortunately, this is an ongoing story that we keep having you in to talk about.
00:01:15.680 It's the latest one, and we'll talk about it. It kind of got a lot of coverage on Twitter,
00:01:22.440 but not a whole bunch in the mainstream media, unfortunately, but we're hopefully going to be
00:01:28.320 able to talk about it now. So let's talk about what was made available yesterday or basically
00:01:33.220 made news yesterday in some circles with the Parliamentary Law Clerk. Maybe you could just
00:01:38.720 start from there and we can backtrack.
00:01:40.680 Well, quite simply, Jamie, what happened yesterday was that the government thumbed its nose at an
00:01:48.600 order of the House of Commons to produce documents related to the government's lab in Winnipeg and its
00:01:55.320 relationship with the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the firing of two government scientists from
00:02:02.360 that lab. So the government's thumbing its nose in an order. You know, it's pretty, you know, it's pretty
00:02:09.160 appalling that they're doing this. You know, Canadians have been and people across the country
00:02:13.560 have been asked to comply with public health orders for the last 18 months of this pandemic.
00:02:21.080 And here we are. The government is not doing as it says, and it's failing to comply with an order
00:02:28.840 of the House of Commons to produce these documents.
00:02:31.400 Now, this is an ongoing issue we've been talking about. We had you on the show a few weeks ago to
00:02:35.960 talk about this. So despite the threats, despite the warnings, the Trudeau government granted a
00:02:44.760 scientist from the China's People's Liberation Army permission to work in the National Microbiology
00:02:50.680 Laboratory in Winnipeg. So that's that's the place where some of the world's most dangerous
00:02:55.720 viruses and pathogens are handled. Where are we in that? Like, how is this continuing to happen?
00:03:02.120 And what is the this this this relationship with the Communist Party of China and this government
00:03:07.400 here in Canada? Well, what's happened at the Winnipeg lab is very concerning. It's clear
00:03:13.320 that there were national security breaches at the lab. What we do know is that two government scientists
00:03:21.320 were marched out of the lab, escorted out of the lab, along with the number of students by the RCMP
00:03:27.080 in July of 2019. We know that those two scientists were fired in January of this year. We know that
00:03:33.480 CSIS raised concerns about these scientists. We know that a scientist from China's military,
00:03:42.360 from the People's Liberation Army, Fei Yu Yan, was granted access by the government to work in the
00:03:50.120 Winnipeg lab, a lab that is a level four lab, a lab that can handle the world's most dangerous
00:03:57.320 pathogens and viruses. That's what we know. This is all very concerning. And when there are national
00:04:03.000 security breaches, it's the responsibility of Parliament and its committees to hold the government
00:04:08.520 accountable for these breaches in order to do investigations, to gather documents so that
00:04:14.040 the government doesn't repeat these mistakes in the future. But they've been stonewalling us and
00:04:19.560 thumbing their nose in order of the House and its committees to produce these documents.
00:04:24.360 Now, we should point out, I think you mentioned it earlier, you know, all three opposition parties
00:04:29.720 teamed up to pass that motion that these documents be released. It was 179 to 149 was the vote demanding
00:04:36.920 those documents. So right now, more than 250 pages have been completely redacted of all information.
00:04:45.880 What is the secrecy that this government doesn't, what do you think it is that the government doesn't
00:04:50.600 want Canadians to find out? Well, this is a government that says that it was going to do
00:04:56.360 things differently. It came to office in 2015, promising to be open and accountable by default.
00:05:02.920 But it's been anything but. It's very concerning why, you know, that they're not releasing these
00:05:08.600 documents. As to exactly why, we don't know. Because we don't know what's behind the redactions.
00:05:13.480 We don't know what they're trying to cover up. Clearly, they're very worried about releasing this
00:05:18.440 information. And, you know, one can only guess as to why. It's clear that there were national
00:05:24.440 security breaches. It's clear they granted access to a Chinese scientist from the People's Liberation
00:05:31.240 Army. It's clear that national security agencies raised concerns about this. But we don't know
00:05:37.080 all the details. And I can only guess as to why they're working so hard to cover everything up.
00:05:43.400 So all these red flags with the Communist Party, but yet Canada still continues to invest in the Asian 1.00
00:05:51.160 Infrastructure Bank. And I believe you asked this in committee a little while ago to Mark Garneau,
00:05:56.920 the minister, about their plans with that with that infrastructure bank. And he responded,
00:06:03.000 according to the this Globe and Mail article, to say, we have no plans to back away from it. So we're
00:06:08.760 building pipelines in other countries. We just can't get anything built in ours.
00:06:12.040 You know, it's astounding. In the last month, the European Union has put a halt
00:06:19.880 to one of China's signature treaties, which is the European Union China Comprehensive Agreement on
00:06:26.280 Investment. Several weeks ago, the Australian government canceled two belt and road initiatives
00:06:35.160 with China to agreements with China. And yet the Canadian government, the Trudeau government continues
00:06:41.160 to go down the path of engagement with China on things, as you pointed out, like the China led
00:06:47.880 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a bank, by the way, which just said this week that it's open to
00:06:53.720 financing Burma's and Myanmar's illegitimate military junta. How on earth Canada, why on earth,
00:07:06.760 and how the government can allow Canadian taxpayer money and Canada's good reputation to continue to
00:07:13.960 participate in a bank that's spreading that kind of model of governance throughout the Indo-Pacific
00:07:18.680 region is beyond me. Our view is that the government should suspend payments to the bank
00:07:23.080 and withdraw as a member. Absolutely, because their condition on funding, the Canadian government's
00:07:28.520 condition on funding has nothing to do with whether or not that country returns to a democracy at all,
00:07:35.160 if ever. That's right. And we shouldn't be financing, even considering the financing of projects
00:07:44.360 initiated by the junta in Myanmar. That's just beyond the pale. This is a junta that is suppressing the
00:07:53.560 people of Myanmar that is illegitimately seized power and is crushing all dissent in the face of a 0.71
00:08:01.240 democratic election that was just held. We can't be legitimizing that kind of brute force by participating
00:08:09.880 the financing of infrastructure projects in that country. And the fact that the China-led Asian
00:08:15.480 Infrastructure Investment Bank is even considering that is proof positive for us to withdraw as a
00:08:20.760 member and withdraw our financing. And now we still have the two Michaels in custody for,
00:08:27.400 I guess it's well over 900 days now, with potentially no end in sight. And we're continuing to
00:08:34.840 do business with with the Communist Party here in China. Yeah, we continue to, you know, do business
00:08:43.880 with them. We continue to engage on a whole range of initiatives of the Communist leaderships that we
00:08:53.880 shouldn't really be participating in. Because a lot of these initiatives are tied to the Belt and Road
00:09:00.360 initiative are tied to China's attempt to export its authoritarian model of governance throughout the
00:09:06.920 Indo-Pacific region. And Canada should not be party to that, because it's really runs counter to our 1.00
00:09:13.960 our fundamental values, and a belief in democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
00:09:19.160 And we're seeing the expansion of China's kind of power and influence almost grip going right around
00:09:25.400 the world. You know, we talked about it before on the show, about what they're doing in many
00:09:29.400 countries in Africa, how they will build something in exchange for maybe port rights or mineral access
00:09:36.040 or drilling rights, that kind of thing. They they are really putting a grip on their their expansion
00:09:43.160 right across the country. Does that is that worrying you? Is is the Canadian government,
00:09:48.600 from what you've learned in committee, taking note of this as well?
00:09:51.720 Yeah, it is of concern. China, in recent years, has become the largest foreign aid donor in
00:09:59.240 sub-Saharan Africa. It's trying to supplant other donors and become an influential
00:10:09.560 power in that region of the world. And, you know, as the old saying goes, beware of
00:10:15.720 those who come bearing gifts. There's always strings attached to these gifts.
00:10:20.360 And so that is of concern. It's also concern what they're doing in closer to home in the South
00:10:27.000 China Sea with their belligerence, their unilateral expansion of of their boundaries into the South
00:10:33.320 China Sea that's threatening the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries in the region.
00:10:38.600 Their recent bellicose behavior in the border clashes that have taken place between China and
00:10:43.880 India is also a concern. Their crackdown on Hong Kong in violation of the international treaty that
00:10:52.920 guaranteed Hong Kong's autonomy for 50 years from 1997 is also a concern. And obviously, you know,
00:10:58.680 their ongoing genocide against the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang province. We have a responsibility
00:11:05.000 to speak up about these violations of international law, because if we're silent, we'll be complicit in
00:11:13.000 those violations.
00:11:13.880 So I know I've asked you this before, but maybe we can reiterate it for those that may have not
00:11:20.760 watched a previous episode. But if the Conservatives were in power, what would we be doing differently
00:11:26.760 right now? If you were the foreign minister, how would you be handling our relationship with China?
00:11:32.120 Well, there's a number of things we would do differently. First and foremost, we'd protect
00:11:38.520 the safety and security of Canadians. And we would come forward with a robust plan
00:11:45.640 to counter China's influence and intimidation operations here on Canadian soil. In recent years,
00:11:51.320 there's been evidence that Chinese agents and personnel at their embassies and missions here in
00:11:58.440 Canada have been coordinating the intimidation of pro-Hong Kong democracy activists, intimidation of
00:12:05.240 Uyghur and Tibetan activists, and intimidation of other people in Canada. That has got to stop. And we've
00:12:11.960 got to have a clear, robust plan in place to counter these operations on Canadian soil and make it clear
00:12:18.200 to China's accredited diplomats here that any involvement in these operations is ground for their expulsion from
00:12:24.600 Canada. The other thing we need to do is to come forward with a clear plan to protect Canadian
00:12:31.400 universities and institutions, and in particular, the very high level research and development that
00:12:39.400 takes place at these universities. And so we would immediately issue a directive to the federal granting
00:12:46.680 councils banning partnerships with Chinese companies and Chinese institutions in sensitive areas such as
00:12:53.880 biotechnology and technology. So we would ban partnerships with Huawei and other companies in those sectors.
00:13:00.680 We would advise Canadian provinces and provincial institutions against partnerships with these companies.
00:13:10.520 Outside of Canada, we would take strong measures to join our allies like Australia, the United States,
00:13:18.200 New Zealand, and the United Kingdom in banning Huawei from Canada's 5G network. We would also withdraw
00:13:27.000 from a big part of China's attempt to export its authoritarian model of governance by withdrawing from the Asian
00:13:34.920 Infrastructure Investment Bank as well as withdraw Canada's funding from that bank. These are all measures that
00:13:42.920 we would take immediately upon coming to office in order to make it clear that we are going to stand up for Canadians
00:13:49.720 and defend their safety and security.
00:13:51.720 I almost forgot, and I feel bad for doing it, but we also forgot to mention, I know we have in previous shows, that the government of
00:14:00.520 Canada wasted 100 days or so when they tried to negotiate with Cansino, an organization linked to the Communist Party of China,
00:14:08.520 on our vaccine supply, which put us behind in basically a lot of countries who are seeing massive reopenings now.
00:14:18.520 We are behind because of that very poor decision to partner with that organization.
00:14:23.320 That's exactly right.
00:14:25.320 You know, we should be partnering more closely in research with our allies, with institutions in the United States,
00:14:35.320 the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan and Australia.
00:14:39.320 This is where our research dollars should be, where we should be collaborating in research.
00:14:48.280 You know, the National Institutes of Health in the United States receives $50 billion Canadian a year
00:14:55.880 for research into health, research into vaccines, research into other health care outcomes.
00:15:02.360 And a lot of that money comes to Canadian researchers here in Canada.
00:15:08.680 And the Biden administration has made it clear that it wants to work more closely with allies in that research,
00:15:15.640 and has also made it clear, though, that if allies aren't taking national security seriously,
00:15:21.640 such as banning Huawei from partnerships here in Canada, that they may not collaborate with us on the research they do do.
00:15:31.480 And so this is incredibly important for us to protect the research dollars that do come from places like the United States,
00:15:39.240 from the United Kingdom, from Europe, from Japan, that is so fundamental to building our innovation infrastructure, as they say.
00:15:47.880 We've got to protect those investments.
00:15:49.800 We cannot put them at risk because we've been lax with national security.
00:15:55.000 Well, we only have a few more minutes left, and I always give the guests the last word, so I'll do that after.
00:16:00.360 But I wanted to give you the opportunity first to comment on the horrific attack that we saw in London, Ontario yesterday.
00:16:09.320 It's absolutely horrifying and, frankly, inexplicable.
00:16:23.480 Words cannot capture the horror of what happened, and, you know, it has no place in Canada.
00:16:31.680 You know, people of all faiths, all creeds, all religions should be able to practice their faith without fear, without discrimination.
00:16:43.240 And what happened yesterday, two days ago, is beyond the pale.
00:16:47.800 And my heart goes out to the family and the friends of the victims, the four victims.
00:16:57.600 You know, it's just, it's something that, you know, it's hard to put into words how horrific that was,
00:17:03.920 and why we have to always be vigilant and stand up against discrimination and hate whenever we see it.
00:17:10.880 Very well said.
00:17:12.440 Maybe we can give you the last word on our original topic.
00:17:15.080 Sorry to bump back and forth here, but I thought it was important that we say that before we sign off.
00:17:22.180 So, again, let's, maybe you can summarize, again, the ongoing, I guess, fascination that the Justin Trudeau and his government has with the Communist Party of China
00:17:32.960 and their ongoing dealings with this, even though Canada continues to get kicked over and over again.
00:17:40.520 And we ran out of time, I didn't talk about the agriculture situation we had, I guess, going on two or three years ago now, probably two years now,
00:17:48.840 and many others where Canada just seems to not want to do business differently with China.
00:17:56.880 Well, I think there are a lot of people close to the Trudeau government that have financial interests connected to China.
00:18:06.980 I think that's one problem with the current government.
00:18:09.740 They're heavily invested in China and, you know, they're heavily compromised in that way.
00:18:16.240 I think the other challenge is that the government came to office naive about the threats that China was posing to our citizens, to our economy, to our values. 0.77
00:18:24.680 I think they now realize these threats, but they still have no plan to deal with these threats.
00:18:32.700 And that's why we really do need a new government in place that's going to come to office immediately with their eyes wide open to take measures to ensure that we're much more multilateral in our approach on China,
00:18:47.820 working much more closely with allies like the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, and countering these threats.
00:18:57.000 Absolutely.
00:18:57.780 And I didn't talk about manufacturing and bringing that back to Canada.
00:19:01.280 We'll have you on again.
00:19:02.180 We'll talk about that again.
00:19:03.960 Thank you very much for Michael Chong.
00:19:05.360 Always well-spoken.
00:19:06.860 The Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, also the Member of Parliament for Wellington, Halton Hills, and the beautiful province of Ontario.
00:19:12.620 We thank you so much for joining us.
00:19:14.420 New content, as I said at the beginning, every single Tuesday, 1.30 p.m. Eastern Time.
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00:19:37.540 That is the Blueprints.
00:19:42.620 That is the Blueprints.