Regina, SK – The Honourable Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition, released the following statement today outlining his expectations of Justin Trudeau at the G20 Summit in Japan:
“Justin Trudeau’s poor judgment on the world stage and weak approach to China have resulted in serious and in some cases dire consequences for Canadians. He must seize this weekend’s G20 Summit as an opportunity to correct these failures.
“The Chinese government has detained two Canadian citizens for more than six months while dozens of other Canadians have been detained on administrative grounds or had their visas questioned.
“Canada has lost Chinese market access for meat, canola seed, and soy exports, costing our farmers more than $1 billion to date. We can only expect this cost to increase and the situation to worsen over the summer, and into the fall. The issue at hand is not Canada’s high-quality products. Rather, it is Justin Trudeau’s failure to take decisive action and deal with the threats posed by China.
“Each time China has taken these actions, Trudeau has failed to stand up for Canada. Like Donald Trump during NAFTA negotiations, China has learned it can walk all over Canada, without consequence, with Trudeau in charge. That has to end now.
“Trudeau must personally raise these issues with President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit. He must secure the release of Canadian detainees, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. And he must restore market access for Canadian farmers. Anything less would be yet another failure.
“Canadians expect their Prime Minister to defend Canada’s interests whenever they come under attack. It’s time for Trudeau to finally rise to the occasion and get results.
“As Prime Minister, I will stand up for Canada by pulling funding from the Asian Infrastructure Bank. Trudeau should never have sent Canadian tax dollars there in the first place. His decision to continue financing it is an example of his weakness and poor judgment on the world stage.”
