Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Xi Jinping want an extradition treaty between Canada and China. (Photo : Getty Images)
Every year, many Chinese citizens are still sent back to the mainland by the Canadian government. These deportations have been occurring despite the ongoing negotiations for an extradition treaty.
According to Canada Border Services Agency data, the previous Conservative government sent back more than 330 individuals and this year, Canada has returned 24 people to China.
"The return of inadmissible persons is a normal part of the bilateral relationship with any country. Nothing has changed with this policy since the change in government in 2015," said Nicholas Dorion of the Canada Border Services Agency.
Stephen Harper in 2014 said that that Canada was eager to collaborate on the return of fugitives. He received praise from China's ambassador to Canada at the time, Luo Zhaohui, and Harper even "stressed that Canada has no intention to 'harbor fugitives.'"
Daniel Jean, former deputy foreign minister, issued a memorandum in 2014 stating, "It is in Canada's interest to have such persons removed."
By 2015, 33 Chinese nationals have been deported. This is the highest number in 10 years.
According to government documents, Jean participated in a "working group on the repatriation of inadmissible foreign nationals." A briefing note indicated that Canadians "do not believe it would be useful to refer to fugitives in the title of this working group and would prefer if China not uses the term when discussing (it)."
Foreign affairs critic Peter Kent said, "We still haven't had a clarification or an explanation from the government on why they're doing this, whether there were strings attached."
"It doesn't make sense to negotiate a formal treaty if some of the people that are probably on the China wish list could very well be subject to either capital punishment or imprisonment," he said.
