By Canadian Press

Unrest in Hong Kong not spilling over to demands on Canadian consulate

Aug 19, 2019 | 12:45 PM

OTTAWA — As tensions escalate between pro-democracy protesters and police in Hong Kong, Canadian diplomats there say they’ve not yet seen any surge in demand for assistance from the nearly 300,000 Canadians who live in the area.

The Immigration Department says that as of Friday, requests for help were within normal levels, and there had been no spike in passport applications from citizens in Hong Kong.

Late last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland did say the government was making contingency plans, but what those might look like is unknown.

In 2006 and in 2011, the Canadian government airlifted citizens out of Lebanon and Libya when violent conflict erupted.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sidestepped a question today about whether the government would consider a similar move for those in Hong Kong.

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He said he does remain concerned about Canadians there, but also about issues of human rights, freedoms of expression and assembly.

The Canadian Press