OttawaBrian Mulroney is calling for “an immediate and urgent rethink” of Canada-China relations and is praising Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for rejecting domestic demands to free senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in exchange for the release of two imprisoned Canadians.The former Progressive Conservative prime minister also told The Globe and Mail that Canada should bar Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s gear from this country’s next-generation 5G mobile networks if it would jeopardize intelligence sharing with Canada’s Five Eyes alliance.Mr. Mulroney, who...…OttawaBrian Mulroney is calling for “an immediate and urgent rethink” of Canada-China relations and is praising Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for rejecting domestic demands to free senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in exchange for the release of two imprisoned Canadians.The former Progressive Conservative prime minister also told The Globe and Mail that Canada should bar Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s gear from this country’s next-generation 5G mobile networks if it would jeopardize intelligence sharing with Canada’s Five Eyes alliance.Mr. Mulroney, who...WW…

The federal government said a B.C. judge’s refusal on Wednesday to end an extradition case against Chinese telecom executive Meng Wanzhou was entirely out of its hands as it braced for economic retaliation from Beijing.The high profile case has placed Canada in the middle of a global power struggle between the United States and China. It has stranded Ms. Meng, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., in Vancouver for more than 18 months, and led to the retaliatory arrest in China of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and punishing sanctions on farm goods from...…The federal government said a B.C. judge’s refusal on Wednesday to end an extradition case against Chinese telecom executive Meng Wanzhou was entirely out of its hands as it braced for economic retaliation from Beijing.The high profile case has placed Canada in the middle of a global power struggle between the United States and China. It has stranded Ms. Meng, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., in Vancouver for more than 18 months, and led to the retaliatory arrest in China of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and punishing sanctions on farm goods from...WW…

OttawaForeign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne has two registered residential mortgages with the state-owned Bank of China in London, which the opposition says opens him to ”personal financial vulnerability” at a time when relations with Beijing are at a standstill.Mr. Champagne, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015, bought two apartments in London – one in in 2009 and one in 2013 – while he was an executive with Amec Foster Wheeler PLC, the British multinational construction and engineering giant.The mortgages were initially valued at $1.7-million, and the...…OttawaForeign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne has two registered residential mortgages with the state-owned Bank of China in London, which the opposition says opens him to ”personal financial vulnerability” at a time when relations with Beijing are at a standstill.Mr. Champagne, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015, bought two apartments in London – one in in 2009 and one in 2013 – while he was an executive with Amec Foster Wheeler PLC, the British multinational construction and engineering giant.The mortgages were initially valued at $1.7-million, and the...WW…

Ottawa, toronto, london, washingtonCanada is now the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence-pooling alliance that has not barred or restricted use of equipment from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in its 5G networks after Britain changed course on Tuesday and banned the Chinese telecommunications giant’s gear.The federal government is giving no indication of whether it will and its other Five Eyes allies – , Australia and New Zealand – and freeze Huawei out of supplying the super-fast 5G cellular technology, despite renewed calls from the opposition parties and mounting allied pressure.On...…Ottawa, toronto, london, washingtonCanada is now the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence-pooling alliance that has not barred or restricted use of equipment from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in its 5G networks after Britain changed course on Tuesday and banned the Chinese telecommunications giant’s gear.The federal government is giving no indication of whether it will and its other Five Eyes allies – , Australia and New Zealand – and freeze Huawei out of supplying the super-fast 5G cellular technology, despite renewed calls from the opposition parties and mounting allied pressure.On...WW…

OttawaSaudi Arabia has been pressing Canada to extradite a former top Saudi intelligence officer now living in Toronto, sources say.Saad Aljabri, who held a cabinet-rank intelligence post under deposed crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, has been living in Toronto since a 2017 palace coup in Riyadh that left Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – known by his initials MBS – as the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia. MBS is officially next in line to succeed his 84-year-old father, King Salman.Canadian sources say the 61-year-old Mr. Aljabri has vast counterterrorism experience and a deep knowledge of...…OttawaSaudi Arabia has been pressing Canada to extradite a former top Saudi intelligence officer now living in Toronto, sources say.Saad Aljabri, who held a cabinet-rank intelligence post under deposed crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, has been living in Toronto since a 2017 palace coup in Riyadh that left Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – known by his initials MBS – as the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia. MBS is officially next in line to succeed his 84-year-old father, King Salman.Canadian sources say the 61-year-old Mr. Aljabri has vast counterterrorism experience and a deep knowledge of...WW…

OttawaThe Canada-U.S. border will remain temporarily closed to non-essential travel until at least Aug. 21 amid Canadians’ concerns about surging COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to sources.Despite mounting pressure from some U.S. politicians in northern states and border communities to reopen the border, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear Monday that he has serious concerns about a major spike in coronavirus infections in most of the American states.“We recognize that the situation continues to be complex in the United States with regard to COVID-19. Every month we have...…OttawaThe Canada-U.S. border will remain temporarily closed to non-essential travel until at least Aug. 21 amid Canadians’ concerns about surging COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to sources.Despite mounting pressure from some U.S. politicians in northern states and border communities to reopen the border, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear Monday that he has serious concerns about a major spike in coronavirus infections in most of the American states.“We recognize that the situation continues to be complex in the United States with regard to COVID-19. Every month we have...WW…

OttawaThe Chinese government says that if Canada sets Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou free it could affect the fate of two Canadians jailed and charged with espionage by Beijing.China has repeatedly rejected suggestions there is any connection between its detention of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor and Canada’s arrest of Ms. Meng in December, 2018, on an extradition request from the United States.On Wednesday, however, a top spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs linked the two matters.Zhao Lijian was commenting on reports in the Canadian...…OttawaThe Chinese government says that if Canada sets Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou free it could affect the fate of two Canadians jailed and charged with espionage by Beijing.China has repeatedly rejected suggestions there is any connection between its detention of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor and Canada’s arrest of Ms. Meng in December, 2018, on an extradition request from the United States.On Wednesday, however, a top spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs linked the two matters.Zhao Lijian was commenting on reports in the Canadian...WW…

OttawaA federal agency relocated an abandoned and rundown building at the Prime Minister’s Harrington Lake retreat in Quebec’s Gatineau Hills and rebuilt it into a $2.5-million lakeside mansion for friends of prime ministers or visiting dignitaries.The “Caretaker’s House” originally built in 1850, has been renamed the “Farmhouse,” and is currently being used by the Trudeau family while $6.1-million in restoration work is being done to the main cottage, a country home for Canadian prime ministers since the late 1950s.Restoration of the 16-room main cottage, that sits on secluded Harrington...…OttawaA federal agency relocated an abandoned and rundown building at the Prime Minister’s Harrington Lake retreat in Quebec’s Gatineau Hills and rebuilt it into a $2.5-million lakeside mansion for friends of prime ministers or visiting dignitaries.The “Caretaker’s House” originally built in 1850, has been renamed the “Farmhouse,” and is currently being used by the Trudeau family while $6.1-million in restoration work is being done to the main cottage, a country home for Canadian prime ministers since the late 1950s.Restoration of the 16-room main cottage, that sits on secluded Harrington...WW…

The U.S. government is asking a New York judge to limit Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s ability to share evidence disclosed during its battle against criminal charges in the United States with chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who is fighting extradition from Canada.The U.S. Department of Justice, in a May 7 filing with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, said it fears Ms. Meng, whom it calls a “fugitive from justice,” is trying to gather evidence from the company’s U.S. court battle so she can “litigate the merits of a U.S. criminal prosecution”...…The U.S. government is asking a New York judge to limit Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s ability to share evidence disclosed during its battle against criminal charges in the United States with chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who is fighting extradition from Canada.The U.S. Department of Justice, in a May 7 filing with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, said it fears Ms. Meng, whom it calls a “fugitive from justice,” is trying to gather evidence from the company’s U.S. court battle so she can “litigate the merits of a U.S. criminal prosecution”...WW…

OttawaClose to 50 Hong Kongers – many of whom took part in the massive demonstrations that began last year as China tightened its grip on the Asian city – are seeking asylum in Canada, citing harassment and brutality at the hands of police in the former British colony and fear of unjust prosecution.Forty-six people with Hong Kong citizenship applied for asylum claims between Jan 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. The claims, which are all pending, were received at airports, Canada Border Security Agency bureaus and Immigration, Refugee and...…OttawaClose to 50 Hong Kongers – many of whom took part in the massive demonstrations that began last year as China tightened its grip on the Asian city – are seeking asylum in Canada, citing harassment and brutality at the hands of police in the former British colony and fear of unjust prosecution.Forty-six people with Hong Kong citizenship applied for asylum claims between Jan 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. The claims, which are all pending, were received at airports, Canada Border Security Agency bureaus and Immigration, Refugee and...WW…