Michael Kovrig stands as he and Michael Spavor are recognized before an address by U.S. President Joe Biden in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 24, 2023. Mandel Ngan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig is urging caution as Canada considers deeper cooperation with China on green technology to support net-zero goals, warning that Beijing could use increased reliance as leverage to further its interests, as it has done with the canola industry.
Kovrig’s comments come after Prime Minister Mark Carney said this week while addressing the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank in New York that Canada plans to work more with China in specific areas like climate, while keeping “guardrails” in other areas and leaving those that may involve national security “off to the side.”
