The global communications chief for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has announced his resignation, saying in a statement on June 14 that the bank is being controlled by “Communist Party hacks” and that Canada’s best interests are not served by being a member.
“As a patriotic Canadian, this was my only course,” said executive Bob Pickard of his resignation in a series of tweets Wednesday.
I have tendered my resignation as the global comms chief of @AIIB_Official. As a patriotic Canadian, this was my only course. The Bank is dominated by Communist Party members and also has one of the most toxic cultures imaginable. I don’t believe that my country’s interests are…
— Bob Pickard (@BobPickard) June 14, 2023
“The [AIIB] is dominated by Communist Party members and also has one of the most toxic cultures imaginable. I don’t believe that my country’s interests are served by its AIIB membership.”
Reacting to the development, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland said Canada will cease all activities with the bank for the time being, and that the government will investigate Pickard’s allegations.
“The Canadian government will also discuss this issue with its allies and partners who are members of the bank. China, as the world’s second-largest economy, needs to play a role in solving global problems which affect every country,” Freeland said.
Pickard, who took on the role of director general of communications with the AIIB in March 2022, said the “Communist Party hacks hold the cards” at the China-based bank, and that “they deal with some board members as useful idiots.”
“The reality of power in the bank is that it’s CCP from start to finish,” he tweeted, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. “I believe that my Government should not be a member of this PRC [People’s Republic of China] instrument.”
‘Authoritarian Model of Governance’
Reacting to the development, Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said Pickard’s resignation “has confirmed what Conservatives have long said” about the AIIB.
“It’s a tool of the Beijing to export its authoritarian model of governance throughout the Indo-Pacific region,” he said on Twitter. He also reiterated his party’s position that the government withdraw from bank and “repatriate the public funds invested.”
By Isaac Teo
