Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly was not briefed on foreign interference conducted by China as she was attempting to rebuild ties with the country, the Foreign Interference Commission heard.
“I was appointed after the return of the two Michaels to Canada, that’s important to understand, because my work is to re-establish a functional relationship with China,” Joly testified to the commission on Oct. 10.
Joly became foreign affairs minister after the Liberals won reelection on Sept. 20, 2021. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who had been detained for over a thousand days in apparent retaliation for Canada acting on a U.S. extradition warrant for Huawei executive Meng Wangzhou, were released a few days later….