CONSERVATIVE Party Leader Erin O’Toole on Friday called on the Chinese ambassador to retract his remarks about those fleeing Hong Kong to seek asylum in Canada and issue a public apology.

He said: “Should the ambassador fail to do so expeditiously, we expect the government to withdraw his credentials.”

O’Toole added: “We are also calling on the Trudeau government to put in place a clear, expedited path for pro-democracy protestors and political refugees fleeing Hong Kong for Canada, to make it clear that only the Canadian government will determine who does and does not get admitted to this country [and] impose Magnitsky sanctions against those responsible for imposing a draconian national security law in violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, an international treaty.”

O’Toole said in a statement: “The Chinese Ambassador has decided to engage in belligerent rhetoric unbecoming of his office.
 
“To be clear, this was a threat to the 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong. And a barely veiled one at that. It was of the kind of tone and tenor one would expect from someone seeking protection money – not someone who is the official emissary of a member of the United Nations Security Council.
 
“A threat to Canadians anywhere, is a threat to Canadians everywhere.”

O’Toole also noted: “Canada is a smaller country on an economic basis when compared to China, but our commitment to liberty, human rights, and the rule of law towers above the conduct of this ambassador.”