A Liberal MP who openly supports the alleged Chinese “police stations” under investigation by the RCMP has created discomfort by inviting her fellow minister François-Philippe Champagne to the same partisan event as the director of these controversial organizations.
Our Bureau of Investigation discovered that the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne met Xixi Li during a liberal evening in a small restaurant in Brossard on February 20.
Mme Li, who is also a municipal councilor in Brossard, runs the two community centers that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) suspects of monitoring and intimidating citizens on behalf of Beijing on Quebec soil.
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The partisan evening, which aimed to thank Liberal volunteers, only had around thirty people. It was the Member of Parliament for Brossard–Saint-Lambert, Alexandra Mendès, who organized the event.
Minister Champagne claims that he was not aware that Mme Li would be there.
“We expect that the organizers of public events in which the minister participates will carry out the necessary checks,” reacted the spokesperson for Minister Champagne, Audrey Champoux.
Minister François-Philippe Champagne and MP Alexandra Mendès participated on February 20, 2024 in a partisan evening in a restaurant in Brossard. Municipal councilor Xixi Li, also director of the two community centers under investigation by the RCMP, was also present.
Photo taken from the Facebook page of the Liberal Association of Brossard Saint Lambert
The minister uncomfortable
The minister’s discomfort is not limited to this event. Minister Champagne also disavowed MP Alexandra Mendès’ criticism of the RCMP.
This is because the member for Brossard–Saint-Lambert does not mince her words towards the police force and its “so-called investigation” into the two community centers in Montreal and Brossard.
“There is some blame to be placed on the RCMP […] It’s sure that [cette enquête] did a lot of damage to the organization. Does it serve any purpose? I don’t think so,” said MP Mendès, in an interview with our Bureau of Investigation.
These comments provoke a strong reaction from experts who recall the fundamental rule according to which politics must never interfere in the judicial field (see down there).
“We do not agree with the comments [de Mme Mendès]. We respect the RCMP investigation and we are waiting to know what will come out of it,” commented Minister Champagne’s spokesperson, Audrey Champoux.
Of “harshness”
MP Mendès confirmed to us that she frequently meets Mme Li, which she supports “absolutely, 100%”, as do the two centers investigated by the RCMP, even if an investigation is still underway. “These are organizations that I have always worked with when I was in the community myself. I have never heard the slightest complaint,” she says.
“These are investigations that may be taking place in the background [background]but who destroyed the organization without ever arriving with the slightest proof, without even having a concrete fact to reproach them for,” says the woman who is also deputy vice-president of the House of Commons.
“I wish they would end it. If they have a case against the organization, they should demonstrate it or they should stop coming after them,” she said, affirming that the two organizations are now struggling to provide services to the Chinese diaspora in Brossard.
RCMP still investigating
Asked about M’s exitme Mendès, RCMP spokesperson Charles Poirier told us that their criminal investigation is still ongoing and that there is “no intention to conclude it at this stage.”
Xixi Li, for her part, did not respond to our invitation to comment.
In March 2023, our Bureau of Investigation revealed that the Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal and the Center Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud, in Brossard, were the subject of an RCMP investigation. The police suspect the two centers of being among the many alleged Chinese “police stations” identified around the world.
The two centers, which plead innocence, have filed a $4.9 million lawsuit against the RCMP. The head of the RCMP, Commissioner Mike Duheme, declared on this subject in an interview with Radio-Canada that the investigation had begun on the basis of “credible” information.
“This is not the first time that we have been sued because we are investigating,” he also declared.
The director of the two centers, Xixi Li, is also suing the mayor of Brossard Doreen Assaad from whom she is demanding $68,000 in damages. She criticizes the mayor for having publicly discredited her in connection with the RCMP investigation into the two institutions she heads. No charges have been filed in this investigation to date.
“If I were her, I would resign”
It is inconceivable that a serving MP would get involved in a police investigation, say the former diplomats and police officers we interviewed.
“It fascinates me that an MP interferes in a legal process. There is a separation of powers which is normally accepted. She should show reserve. The hairs stand up on my head […] Going to comment on an investigation is really ordinary,” says Paul Laurier, former investigator with the Sûreté du Québec.
“If I were her, I would resign,” continues the man who was also a member of the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Team.
“It’s not just a reserve duty. It is an ethical duty to respect this separation of powers. This should be understood by all elected officials. It is an attack on democracy for an elected official to comment on an ongoing investigation […] in addition to possibly harming national security,” analyzes Jean-François Savard, professor at the National School of Public Administration.
According to former diplomat Guy Saint-Jacques, who served as ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from 2012 to 2016, Mr.me Mendès is possibly doing this to please the large Chinese diaspora in his constituency.
“She must have felt that this investigation was poorly received and wanted to side with them. It has been the position of the Liberal Party for years to turn a blind eye [sur l’ingérence chinoise] so as not to alienate the community […] Frankly, if she isn’t aware of all of China’s interference activities, it’s time she asked for a proper briefing from CSIS [Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité]“, he says.
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