Canadian minister urged to quit Chinese government advisory body chaired by senior member of Politburo

The federal Conservatives are calling on Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault to resign his position on an advisory group to the Chinese government – a body chaired by a former chief of staff to President Xi Jinping – and to end Canadian funding to this organization that instructs Beijing on green development.

“We need to engage with China. We need to indicate our point of view to them,” he said. “But a Canadian minister of the Crown should not be sitting as executive vice-chairperson and giving it the prestige of Canada’s good name on environmental issues while at the same time China is massively increasing construction of coal-fired plants.”

Oliver Anderson, director of communications for Mr. Guilbeault, noted that the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper also donated money to the council – including $7.8-million between 2007 and 2012 – and that former Conservative environment minister Peter Kent participated in its activities.

“Stephen Harper’s Conservative government contributed roughly the same amount to this forum and former minister Peter Kent was an executive vice-chairperson on multiple occasions.” The chair of the environmental advisory council is Ding Xuexiang, considered one of the most powerful men in China. Mr. Ding is the sixth-highest-ranked leader in the Politburo Standing Committee, the top governing body led by Mr. Xi. Mr. Ding was Mr. Xi’s chief of staff before he was promoted to China’s vice-premier.

“On the one hand, the Conservative Party says it’s major polluters like China we should talk to about climate change, but when they see a partisan opportunity to attack a long-established forum where Canada can actually do just that, they cry foul,” Mr. Anderson said. “As wildfires and heat waves have shown, climate change and environmental issues know no borders.

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Strong output from Canadian consumers not enough to avoid economic slowdownDescription
Source: CanadiansInvest - 🏆 53. / 59 Read more »

Canadian corporate ethics czar launches China forced-labour probe into Ralph LaurenOttawa\u0027s corporate\u002Dethics watchdog has announced an investigation into fashion company Ralph Lauren.
Source: calgarysun - 🏆 63. / 52 Read more »

What every Canadian investor needs to know todayA look at Tuesday morning’s market action
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »

Twenty new Canadian ETFs amid weakening flows: money market, slightly levered and multifactorThe most significant flows among individual ETFs are consistent with the prevailing trend this year
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »

'RADICAL DISDAIN FOR WOMEN:' Justin Trudeau blasted after trans powerlifter sets Canadian recordPrime Minister Justin Trudeau and powerlifting in Canada is under fire after a trans athlete set world records at Canadian championship.
Source: TheTorontoSun - 🏆 23. / 68 Read more »

The Daily Chase: Canadian Tire, Cineplex deliver earnings; U.S. inflation acceleratesHere are five things you need to know for Aug. 10, 2023.
Source: BNNBloomberg - 🏆 83. / 50 Read more »