The director of the Sino-Québec Center and municipal councilor, Xixi Li, is suing the mayor of Brossard, Doreen Assaad, for damages. When his organization was targeted by the RCMP last year as an “illegal Chinese police station,” Mr.me Li believes that the mayor has “multiplied public statements in order to discredit her”.
In the lawsuit filed Thursday, the advisor says she “saw her motivation and devotion crushed under the weight of the comments made by her work colleague.”
Xixi Li claims to have experienced “enormous stress” at the time, having even been forced “to lock herself in her home to escape the remarks and comments of residents and journalists”. She was also prescribed medication to help her sleep in addition to seeing a social worker for six months.
His lawyers also assert that “despite his wish to continue working in politics, it will be difficult for [Mme Li] to run again in the 2025 municipal elections in the city of Brossard because of the narrative presented by Mayor Assaad.
In March 2023, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) launched an investigation into two alleged “Chinese police stations” in Quebec which would have established a “climate of terror” within part of the Chinese diaspora.
The two organizations then targeted, the Chinese Family of Greater Montreal and the Center Sino-Québec, are chaired by Li Xixi, who is also an opposition municipal councilor in Brossard. No one has yet been charged in connection with this investigation.
All this comes as earlier this week, on Wednesday, the two organizations, which say they have lost more than $3 million in funding due to this case, had already filed a lawsuit seeking moral and punitive damages of $5 million. dollars against the RCMP. The lawsuit against the mayor demands a total of $68,000.
“I expected more solidarity”
Last spring, Mayor Assaad revealed in the wake of this affair that her party filed a complaint with the Director General of Elections of Quebec (DGEQ) against Li Xixi during the last municipal electoral campaign. The mayor’s party deplored that the candidate benefited from the “active” involvement of Sino-Québec in the campaign.
“People ask me if I’m surprised by the RCMP investigation. Yes, but I still observed gestures and behaviors during the electoral campaign which already raised ethical questions. As a municipal councilor, Li Xixi still has access to a lot of information on the City’s decision-making process,” Ms.me Assaad in interview with The Press.
According to Councilor Li, the mayor thus “questioned the legitimacy” of her election and “her integrity in her role as elected representative of Brossard, in addition to “attacking the credibility of the Sino-Québec Center”.
“It is not easy for racialized women to fulfill multiple roles within family, community and public service. I therefore expected more solidarity from another elected official. Instead, Mme Assaad added fuel to the fire of prejudice, causing me even more harm,” explained M.me Li, in a statement sent to media on Thursday.
With Vincent Larouche, The Press