Toews Says Dechert Did Nothing 'Untoward'

The Prime Minister's Office has looked into the Bob Dechert email controversy and found nothing untoward occurred, says Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.

The Conservative MP admitted to sending “flirtatious” emails to Shi Rong, a journalist in Toronto working for China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, in 2010 while parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs.

In an interview with the CBC's Evan Solomon on Power & Politics, Toews said he had no evidence to indicate anything untoward took place between the journalist and Dechert.

Some have wondered if there should be an investigation into the matter in order to make sure no sensitive information was exchanged in their correspondence.

Late Thursday, the Ottawa Citizen reported that Rong now has left Canada on a "scheduled vacation."

Chinese envoy decries ‘irresponsible’ coverage of Tory MP’s e-mail affair

The Chinese government says the Bob Dechert affair is a private matter and it’s “irresponsible” for the press to imply Beijing had any hand in it.

Mr. Dechert, a Conservative MP with special foreign affairs duties, says amorous e-mails he sent to a journalist with China’s state news service are part of an “innocent friendship.” These include messages where he said he loved Shi Rong, a Toronto correspondent for Xinhua News Agency.

Canada's top spy last year warned that the Chinese were trying to infiltrate Canadian politics. Western intelligence agencies consider Xinhua a tool of the Chinese state that collects information for Beijing.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Ottawa told The Globe and Mail the country has nothing to say about the personal relationship between Mr. Dechert, 53, and Ms. Shi. Both are married to other people.