How to kick a diplomat out of Canada

Diplomats have special protections under the law – but they have to leave when they’re no longer welcome.

The federal government is under heavy political pressure to expel a foreign diplomat from Canada. Such expulsions are rare — but they do happen.

Earlier this week, the Globe and Mail reported that Zhao Wei, a diplomat at the Chinese consulate in Toronto, was allegedly working on efforts to threaten the family members of Conservative MP Michael Chong.

Chong, whose father was from Hong Kong, has relatives in China. The Chinese Embassy in Canada and Beijing’s foreign affairs spokesperson have denied the allegations.

The Conservatives have demanded repeatedly that the Trudeau government explain why it has not yet sent Zhao packing. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday that the government hasn’t made a decision yet.

On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not say whether his government plans to expel Zhao.

“This is a big step, not a small step, to expel diplomats. It’s one that has to be taken with due consideration on all the potential impacts and all the very clear messages that it will send,” Trudeau said.

“This is something that [Joly] is looking at very carefully, looking at all the information around it, and she will make a decision in due course.”

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The government can expel Zhao at any time — legally, it doesn’t even have to offer a reason for the move. It would do so simply by declaring Zhao persona non grata, a Latin phrase meaning “person not welcome.”

Canada is a signatory to the 1961 Vienna Convention, a United Nations treaty. Article nine of the convention says that a country “may, at any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the sending State that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata.”

Canada can also declare a foreign diplomat persona non grata prior to their arrival in this country.

Expulsion is often a country’s only option for sanctioning a foreign diplomat. Article 31 of the Vienna Convention grants diplomats immunity from criminal prosecution and in most civil matters while posted to foreign countries.

Canada has expelled diplomats from a number of countries over the years.

In 2018, Canada expelled four Russian diplomats and denied three Russian applications for additional diplomatic staff. Then-foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland cited a nerve gas attack on a Russian dissident in the United Kingdom as the reason for the decision. The move was made in concert with several allies.

In 2013, under then-foreign affairs minister John Baird, Canada expelled an Eritrean diplomat, Semere Ghebremariam O. Micael. He was the head of Eritrea’s consulate general in Toronto. Media outlets had reported O. Micael was allegedly soliciting a “diaspora tax” on Eritreans in Canada.

“The Eritrean government is welcome to propose another candidate to represent it in Canada, but that person must be prepared to play by the rules. Our resolve on this matter should not be further tested,” Baird said in a news release on the expulsion.

A year earlier, Canada expelled all Syrian diplomats in response to the Houla massacre in the Syrian Civil War.

Syria wasn’t the only country Canada severed diplomatic relations with in 2012. In September of that year, the government declared all Iranian diplomats persona non grata, closed the Iranian embassy in Ottawa and shuttered the Canadian embassy in Tehran.

“Canada’s position on the regime in Iran is well known. Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today,” Baird said in a news release.

“The Iranian regime has shown blatant disregard for the Vienna Convention and its guarantee of protection for diplomatic personnel.”

Andrei Knyazev, a Russian diplomat based in Ottawa, drove his car into a sidewalk in 2001, killing one pedestrian and severely injuring another. Knyazev refused a breathalyzer test, citing diplomatic immunity. Canada subsequently expelled him and the Russian foreign ministry fired him.

A Moscow court found Knyazev guilty of involuntary mansalughter and sentenced him to four years in a penal colony.

Knyazev’s case preceded two similar incidents involving diplomats and drunk driving, including a case which saw Japan recall a diplomat accused of DUI in 2002.

Canada expelled two Chinese diplomats in 1970s after Canada established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1970. A Globe and Mail report, citing confidential sources, said one Chinese diplomat was ordered to leave in 1977 over attempts to influence and infiltrate Chinese-Canadian organizations.