VANCOUVER— Canada’s political parties have done the country a disservice by not having a robust conversation on the country’s relationship with China, say observers who had hoped the issue would finally be at the forefront of political agendas.

Louis Huang is a cofounder of The Alliance of the Guard of Canadian Values, a 60-member group working to shed light on the Chinese government’s attempts to influence Canadian society and politics. Earlier this year, Huang told Star Vancouver he hoped the tumultuous relations between Canada and China would spark a conversation among political parties, but it hasn’t gone as he’d hoped.

“We haven’t seen any good quality debates or good quality discussions on the issues of China,” Huang said. “I’m quite disappointed.”

Huang said China issues should be a top concern now, given China’s retaliatory detention of two Canadians in Beijing after Canada arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States last year, as well as other attempts to pressure Canada into releasing her.

He said the silence suggests Canadian politicians are worried about losing support from those sympathetic to Beijing.

A 2018 Canadian Security and Intelligence Service report titled China and the Age of Strategic Rivalry warned of Beijing’s attempts to influence Chinese communities abroad, including getting students and businesses to support the ruling Communist Party of China’s agenda in their respective countries.

Huang and other observers say China’s economic attacks on Canada via meat import restrictions in retaliation for Meng Wanzhou and the current unrest in Hong Kong, which is home to 300,000 Canadians, are all issues worthy of discussion this election.

China was only briefly mentioned during political debates, but Huang said the silence by Canadian politicians goes beyond the federal election.

He pointed to Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West as the only politician talking critically about Beijing-Canada relations. West recently spoke out against a reception hosted by the Chinese consulate for municipal politicians in British Columbia.

In a phone interview Thursday, West said the lack of discussion about China during the federal election campaign has let down Canadian voters who are far more concerned about the issue than politicians would like to admit.

Fentanyl, money laundering and inflated real estate prices have all been linked to China, West said, yet Canadian politicians shy away from discussing it.

“We can’t raise anything that might offend their delicate sensibilities,” West said of China’s leaders. “Whether our elected leaders are spineless, scared, indifferent or have just bought into this concept that this unhealthy relationship we have with (China) is somehow beneficial to Canada because there might be a board room somewhere where people are making money.”

Charles Burton, a China expert with Ottawa-based think tank the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said the lack of conversation around China is damaging to the public interest, especially because of Canada’s relations with the United States, by far Canada’s largest trading partner.

The Trump administration has said it would not allow Huawei to develop its 5G systems in the U.S. If Ottawa and Washington are not on the same page on such issues, it could harm trade down the road, Burton said.

The U.S. has been trying to encourage allies to ban Huawei, which it considers a security risk. Burton said Canada’s inclusion in the Five Eyes security partnership could be at risk if Ottawa approves Huawei working on 5G.

The Munk Leaders Debate on Foreign Policy was one chance for politicians to shed some light on the issue, but Burton said Trudeau’s refusal to participate meant there was no chance for frank public debate on the topic.

Burton added that he wagers the Conservatives have been silent on the issue in anticipation of needing support from the Bloc Québécois in a minority government situation.

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During the French-language debate Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet criticized the Liberal government’s handling of the Meng situation, alleging China’s retaliation had harmed Quebec’s economy.

“I do feel a lot of regret this issue has not been brought out in public debate,” Burton said.

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