THE SHOW IN WASHINGTON — Conservative foreign affairs critic MICHAEL CHONG told his story to lawmakers south of the border Tuesday, plainly laying out the facts and warning foreign interference is a “serious national security threat” to Canada and its economy. Canadian media was all over it. At last check, it barely registered as a blip in U.S. media. The same thing happened last year when former Alberta premier JASON KENNEY and Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON appeared before a U.S. Senate committee to talk about energy and minerals. — ‘Corrosive’ campaign: Chong briefly addressed the disinformation campaign leveled against him on WeChat in May. But he was not pressed for details on that, or anything really. “This is corrosive because WeChat in Canada has over a million users and some 5 million people globally, including many in Canada who saw that disinformation, and so [the PRC has] weaponized Chinese-language social media,” Chong said. — Damp fireworks: Sparks didn’t fly. Rhetoric didn’t soar. Canada didn’t look weak on national security. JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s name was absent. He fielded a wide range of questions, including one on whether North America should go on the interference offensive and work to “bring down” Beijing’s leadership. (His response: fund VPN technology to counter state propaganda.) — Shotgun approach: Chong’s time before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China was largely spent making forward-looking pitches for how to patch the holes the Chinese state is poking into Western democracies. And the veteran MP brought a quiver full. → Screening imports. Work closely with the U.S. on how to stop forced-labor products from Xinjiang, like cotton, from flowing into Canada. “Some 2.5 thousand shipments from the PRC in the last two or three years have been seized by U.S. border officials and prevented from coming into the United States. In Canada, we've yet to seize one shipment. There was a single shipment that was seized but later released.” → Toughen up on research. North America should tighten rules on research involving China in sensitive areas like quantum computing, AI, telecommunications, biopharma and clean tech. “Whether it's the four Canadian granting councils or in the United States here, the National Institutes of Health and other granting councils, I think we need to make it clear that we won't fund research in those five areas that's in partnership with PRC entities.” → And many more: Reform Interpol in light of the bounties and arrest demands made for pro-Hong Kong democracy activists abroad, and step up international collaboration for PRC asylum seekers and “provide a circle of protection around those individuals.” — Where the real story was: RUSHAN ABBAS, founder of the Campaign for Uyghurs who traveled for some 25 hours by plane to testify after Chong, evocatively spelled out a problem Canada also faces in addressing foreign interference with diaspora communities: “Many Uyghurs in the United States are facing the most significant crisis of our lives, but many of us are afraid to speak out because of what might happen to our lives back home,” she told lawmakers. “Remember when we used to have these sorts of hearings on the Hill before? A roomful of Uyghurs used to join you, holding pictures of their family members [still] missing. But today, you don't see many. They are afraid of coming to public events like this as a direct result of [transnational repression].” — Rear-view mirror: Polling by Leger done for Elections Canada in early March about trust in elections registered concerns for the first time about foreign or Chinese interference, jumping from 0 to 7 percent. Overall, it found a gradual slide in the general belief that elections in Canada are run fairly, dropping to 78 percent in March from 86 percent in April 2021. THE 20-YEAR STRETCH — Record public subsidies poured into Volkswagen and Stellantis-LG Energy Solutions electric vehicle battery plants are projected to break even in 20 years, according to a new analysis by Canada’s federal budget watchdog. The assignment was to find the equilibrium point for C$28.2 billion in public subsidies (which are scheduled to end by 2032). The conclusion blows apart assurances made by Trudeau and Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE that Ottawa would recoup its C$13.2-billion Volkswagen investment within five years. “Government ministers have chosen to use the very rosy picture that everything will happen in Canada because of these two very significant investments,” Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) YVES GIROUX, a self-described “heartless” economist, told reporters Tuesday. Giroux said his conclusion assumes a scenario where production at both facilities are run at full capacity. — Background: Giroux’s office released a costing note in June that found the federal government’s portion of the Volkswagen deal is projected to cost C$16.3 billion, about C$2.8 billion higher than advertised. — A key detail: “Following the release of PBO’s June report, the minister of finance clarified that the production subsidies provided to Volkswagen will not be subject to taxation,” read the report. — Government reacts: Champagne told reporters at the caucus retreat on Tuesday evening that Giroux’s report “basically confirms that the deals that we've made are good deals for Canadians, that they're going to pay dividends for decades to come.”
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