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Bloc, NDP support Tory bid to revive committee studying Canada-China relations

OTTAWA — MPs have voted to re-establish a special committee on Canada-China relations.
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The West Block of Parliament Hill is pictured through the window of the Sir John A Macdonald building in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Opposition MPs have voted to re-establish a special committee on Canada-China relations. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — MPs have voted to re-establish a special committee on Canada-China relations. 

The committee was first set up in 2019 in light of prolonged diplomatic friction with China, with a mandate to examine and review the bilateral relationship, including economic, legal and security aspects. 

A Conservative motion to resurrect the committee passed Monday, with the party saying China's Communist government threatens and targets Chinese-Canadian pro-democracy and human rights advocates and poses a threat to Canada's national security.

The Tories say the committee is especially important because of a pact China and Russia signed just before Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. 

The Liberals voted against the motion, but NDP and Bloc Québécois MPs supported the Conservatives. 

The first iteration of the committee focused largely on the arbitrary detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were released by Chinese authorities in September after being held for 1,020 days. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2022.

The Canadian Press

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