(Ottawa) The absence of a register of foreign agents of influence deprives police forces like the RCMP of important tools that would allow them to imprison individuals running clandestine Chinese police stations in Canada.
This astonishing admission is contained in documents from the Privy Council Office, which, in a briefing note to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, explain why American authorities were able to lay charges against two individuals in connection with the presence of a post illegal Chinese police force in New York, while no similar charges have been filed domestically.
In the United States, a registry of foreign agents of influence has existed for several decades. This registry requires any foreign national who engages in influence activities on behalf of a foreign country to first register with the Department of Justice. Last spring, the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn used the registry’s provisions to arrest two individuals operating an underground Chinese police station in New York’s Chinatown.
Charges of conspiring to serve as agents of the People’s Republic of China in connection with this police station have been filed against Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59.
This clandestine police station would be one of approximately 100 Chinese police operations deployed in several Western countries, including Canada. But to date, this is the only case recorded where criminal proceedings have been initiated.
In Canada, no arrests or charges have been made in connection with the existence of seven Chinese police stations, two of which were allegedly located in Montreal. And the reason is very simple, according to the Privy Council Office – the Prime Minister’s department.
“There is currently no criminal offense in Canada equivalent to the charge of conspiring to act in the United States as agents of a foreign government without first notifying the Attorney General of the United States. Canada has not yet implemented a register of foreign agents,” it is stated in this note to the Prime Minister dated May 9, 2023.
The Press recently obtained this rating thanks to the Access to Information Act. The memo is signed by the Prime Minister’s former national security adviser Jody Thomas.
“Safety Priority”
These revelations have angered the Conservative Party, which has been calling for the creation of a register of foreign agents of influence for several years. According to Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus, who is Pierre Poilievre’s political lieutenant in Quebec, the Trudeau government is needlessly dragging its feet on this issue.
“We are faced once again with stark evidence that the Trudeau government is deliberately failing to protect Canadians – on Canadian soil – from threats posed by authoritarian governments. The Liberals did not keep their promise to establish a registry of foreign agents of influence. Such a registry would limit the influence that foreign governments have shown they can exercise on Canadian soil,” said Mr. Paul-Hus.
“It’s time for the Trudeau government to prioritize the safety of Canadians. Conservatives will prioritize the safety of Canadians by creating a registry and closing illegal foreign police stations,” he added.
The former Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, indicated last spring his intention to table a bill in the fall aimed at creating such a register. He was expelled from the cabinet in July. His successor, Minister Dominic LeBlanc, indicated that the creation of a register was still on the cards, without however giving a timetable.
A spokesperson for Mr. LeBlanc, Jean-Sébastien Comeau, indicated that this is still one of the government’s priorities, but we must “take the time to do things well.”
PHOTO JUSTIN TANG, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Federal Minister of Public Health, Dominic LeBlanc
“Since 2015, our government has put in place a series of robust mechanisms to combat foreign interference and protect our democratic institutions. We are constantly identifying ways to further strengthen these measures – and this includes implementing a register of foreign agents. The creation of a register is part of a series of legislative changes that we are considering to modernize and strengthen our national security laws,” he said.
Positions in over 50 countries
In September 2022, the human rights organization Safeguard Defenders, based in Spain, claimed in a report that divisions of the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) of the People’s Republic of China had set up “police stations » in more than 50 countries, including Canada.
Last June, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police certified that they had “put an end to illegal police activities in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia,” but it did not indicate whether it had made any arrests in connection with this affair. She had opened investigations a few months earlier in connection with the presence of three Chinese police stations in the Toronto region, two others in Vancouver and two in Montreal.
In the Montreal region, the RCMP pointed to the Chinese Family Services of Greater Montreal and the Center Sino-Québec on the South Shore as installations housing Chinese police stations. But the leaders of these resource centers vehemently denied these reports. In December, they filed a $2.5 million civil suit against the police force for defamation.
With the collaboration of William Leclerc, The Press