Trudeau Liberals admit they didn't know about China-managed Canadian visa application centres

The Trudeau Liberals were not made aware that a Canadian visa application centre in Beijing was managed by Chinese police, the Globe and Mail reports.

The Liberals did not know that the centre was run by a Chinese state employees until around the same time that the Globe broke the story.

The centre had been run by Chinese state employees since 2008.

"In February, 2021, Public Services and Procurement became aware that Beijing Shuangxiong Foreign Service Company is ultimately owned by the Beijing Public Security Bureau," the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement wrote.

The visa application centre has since been visited three times by Canadian government officials.

The admission came after NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan, who pressed the Liberals on the matter in written questions.

The Liberals have not yet said whether or not the arrangement would continue between the Canadian government and the Shuangxiong Foreign Services.

Despite increasingly tense diplomatic relations with China since the arrest of Canada's "two Michaels," the Trudeau Liberals have awarded China millions in business contracts.

This includes a $6.8 million contract with a Chinese-state owned company that provides security for 170 Canadian embassies, consulates, and high commissions world wide.

That company, the Nuctech Company, was founded by the son of then-General Secretary of the Communist Party Hu Jintao.