As the Quebec RCMP steps up engagement with Montreal’s Chinese community due to increasing reports of alleged intimidation and interference linked to Beijing, Conservative MPs are calling for an emergency parliamentary committee meeting to address the concerns.
“Over the past three weeks there has been a surge in attacks on Chinese Canadians in Montreal, perpetrated by representatives of the Communist Party in Beijing,” said a joint
statement signed by four Conservative MPs on July 15.
The MPs, all part of the House
Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC), include vice-chair Michael Cooper, along with committee members Blaine Calkins, Eric Duncan, and Luc Berthold. They urged the committee chair, Liberal MP Ben Carr, to hold an emergency meeting while Parliament remains in summer recess.
When asked about the Conservative MPs’ statement, the RCMP confirmed to the Epoch Times on July 15 that it has received “half a dozen credible reports relevant to our investigation.” The number of attacks on Chinese Canadians in Montreal was first reported by Global News.
Quebec RCMP last week launched
a social media campaign calling for tips from the public about criminal activities connected to interference from Chinese officials. The federal police force last year had publicly announced its investigation into locations in the province that have allegedly functioned as illegal Chinese police stations.
In a July 9
video post on the platform X, the RCMP delivered a message in Chinese, alongside
French and
English versions, stating, “We are actively investigating allegations of criminal activity related to Chinese interference in Quebec.” The force also encouraged the public to anonymously report “any form of threats, harassment or intimidation from the Chinese Communist Party.”
Shortly after the video was posted online, the RCMP received four credible tips, spokesperson Sergeant Charles Poirier told The Epoch Times in
a previous interview.
Motivated by tips from victims and witnesses of Beijing interference who reported that the issue was ongoing, the Quebec RCMP launched a
community outreach campaign on July 10. Uniformed officers conducted door-to-door visits in Montreal’s Chinatown, raising awareness about foreign interference from the Beijing regime.
“We want to talk to the community from East Asia, but mostly the Chinese community, to demystify what is foreign interference and what is Chinese interference,” Sgt. Poirier said.
Chinese Police Stations
In March 2023, Quebec RCMP took the unprecedented step of disclosing its investigation into two locations suspected of housing secret Chinese police stations.
The RCMP’s announcement followed
2022 reports from the human rights organization Safeguard Defenders, which suggested that
several other Chinese police posts were operating in various Canadian provinces as well as globally. These Chinese outposts allegedly contributed to the Chinese regime’s forced repatriation of Chinese nationals.
In their July 15 statement, the Tory MPs noted that the recent waves of attacks in Quebec occurred in the neighbourhood where one of the alleged Chinese police posts was located, saying “Montrealers continue to live in fear.”
Testifying before PROC in June 2023, RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme said that the force had taken action to shut down activities at multiple locations accused of operating as Chinese police stations.
“Our investigation into Chinese police stations is still active, there’s been no resolution,” Sgt. Poirier
told The Epoch Times on July 11.
While U.S. authorities have
arrested several individuals involved in the operation of secret Chinese police stations in the country, no arrests have been made in Canada thus far.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office for comment, but did not hear back by publication time.Noé Chartier contributed to this report.
