Madam Speaker, I am following up on a question I asked the Prime Minister earlier in which I raised two distinct issues. I spoke a little about Canadian participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and I also spoke about the Prime Minister announcing four years ago that Canada was in the beginnings of extradition discussions with the Government of China. I want to follow up on and highlight both of those very important issues again. I look forward to the feedback of the government on them.
First, as I pointed out at the time, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is part of a colonial project to expand Chinese government control and influence throughout Asia. In spite of the very clear objectives, briefing documents sent to the government by the public services pointed out that this is part of a belt and road initiative, which promotes values, economic security and ideas of human rights that are contrary to Canadian values and principles.
In spite of that, the Liberal government chose to bring Canada into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which means that we put over 400 million hard-earned taxpayer dollars into this bank. This bank is a vehicle for expanding the strategic influence of the Chinese government through which the Chinese government promotes models of governance, ideas about human rights and economic securities that are contrary to our values.
Why in the world would Canada participate in this? Why would Canadians want to see their dollars going to this type of a development bank? We have heard a couple of responses from the government on that. Sometimes we hear the government saying that this is about creating opportunities for Canadian companies, that maybe Canadian companies could get contracts with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank if we put taxpayer money into it.
Even if that were true, I do not think that this sort of backdoor corporate subsidy through the Chinese government is a very effective way of supporting Canadian businesses. In any event, it is not true. As I was able to establish when I visited the headquarters of the AIIB in Beijing, it has an open procurement policy so Canadian companies are welcome to bid on projects whether or not Canada is a member of the bank.
The government says it is important for us to be promoting development, participating in multilateral institutions and so forth. Yes, it is important for us to be participating in multilateral institutions that reflect and promote our values, not ones that are seeking to promote strategic interests in a model of government which is contrary to our values.
It is very sad to see how the Chinese government today is replicating colonial techniques in other parts of Asia that were tragically and wrongly used against China in the 19th century, and that it is inflicting the same humiliation on other countries. I think everyone can understand that that is not right and Canada should not participate. In the exchange that took place previously in the House, the Prime Minister completely mischaracterized our participation in the AIIB.
I also raised the issue of extradition. Four years ago the Prime Minister announced the beginning of extradition discussions. At the time, when I asked the question in the House in the last month, the Prime Minister responded by saying that China does not meet the criteria for an extradition treaty. This is heartening because frankly it is obvious that the Chinese government does not meet the criteria for an extradition treaty. It did not four years ago, and it does not today.
I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary why is it that any discussions took place, because at the Canada-China committee our public servants confirmed that discussions did take place. When it was as obvious then as it is today that the criteria are not there, why was the door even opened? Canadians deserve an answer on that as well.