RCMP accused of ‘treating Chinese police agencies differently than other forms of organized crime’

OTTAWA, Canada – In testimony before the Hogue Commission, RCMP leaders confirmed they are struggling to bring criminal charges as they ramp up investigations into foreign interference in Canada. These investigations – deemed by Ottawa as “sensitive sector” investigations – increasingly involve organized crime linked to state operations from countries such as China, India, Russia and Iran, impacting diaspora communities across the country.

“We’re having briefing sessions on what’s happening in the area of ​​foreign interference, but also what’s going on in other areas of activity related to serious organized crime, so that’s new,” Deputy Commissioner Mark Flynn testified.

Commissioner Mike Duheme added that the trend of hostile states using organized crime is not limited to Canada, but is recognized by allies from the US and Britain to Australia and France.

A significant portion of the testimony focused on the RCMP’s high-profile investigation into alleged PRC “police stations” in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, as well as allegations about India’s involvement in the murder of a Sikh leader in British Columbia – a claim India has strongly denied Iran’s attacks on human rights activists in Canada.

With regard to Chinese police stations, the RCMP rejected claims raised during the hearings and publicly by several Canadian parliamentarians, including Senator Yuen Pau Woo, that its national security investigation into alleged Chinese Communist Party (CCP) police stations provided legitimate community services and activities had been disrupted. At the same time, the RCMP has been criticized for not aggressively investigating transnational repression, which appears to involve serious organized crime.

The Commission has learned that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) disseminated intelligence in the fall of 2022, following international attention from the NGO Safeguard Defenders, assessing that these stations were set up in part to “gather intelligence and identify former residents of the People’s Republic of China who were living in Canada as part of Canada.” of the PRC’s broader transnational anti-corruption, repression and repatriation campaign.” These police stations, established by subnational authorities of the People’s Republic of China, reportedly provide administrative services to Chinese nationals abroad, such as driver’s license renewals and household registration changes. More than twenty services were offered through these stations, which operate in countries all over the world.

During the proceedings, Neil Chantler, a lawyer representing Chinese Canadians involved in interference in the People’s Republic of China, noted that documents showed that Canadian authorities were aware of the CCP police stations before the Safeguard Defenders report, which led to international attracted media attention. Deputy Commissioner Flynn declined to confirm this, citing ongoing investigations.

Chantler took issue with the RCMP’s approach, which has focused on public engagement with the diaspora community and the disruption of overt stations that allegedly provide services to immigrants while secretly gathering intelligence and surveilling Canadian residents.

“I would suggest to you that the RCMP’s approach to these overseas police stations was very diplomatic,” Chantler said. take the issue seriously and build trust. We discussed that one of the main issues with the underreporting of foreign interference is trust within diaspora communities. My clients want to know why these police stations were treated differently than other types of crime organizations – such as a drug lab, a money laundering operation or a Hells Angels clubhouse. Why were these overseas Chinese police stations treated with so much diplomacy?

Flynn responded, disagreeing with Chantler’s premise: “If you call this diplomacy or diplomacy, that’s not what it is. This is a law enforcement investigation into a very serious matter that impacts the Chinese community in Canada.”

Earlier, in response to concerns raised the previous day by a woman representing a community group that sued the RCMP over its investigation into alleged CCP stations in Montreal, Flynn said: “Yes, we are aware of that information and specifically also from yesterday’s testimony. ”

“We are also aware of feedback from some community associations and other uninvolved community associations that they felt there was a negative impact on the operations of some legitimate services in those locations,” he continued. “But it is important to point out that we were not targeting these legitimate services. Our investigation focused on the illegal activities that took place at those locations. The fact that the legitimate services offered there enable illegal activities in those locations is the result of the community members’ visits for those services.”

The issue of trust, especially of diaspora communities affected by foreign repression, is a growing concern. Flynn was asked about measures to address the diaspora citizen reporting process targeted by states such as China, India and Iran, and whether the process was producing results. He emphasized that building trust with these communities is essential to effective law enforcement and that the RCMP is working to improve its engagement strategies.

Questions were also raised about the RCMP’s handling of the investigation involving MP Michael Chong, who was reportedly the target of harassment by PRC-linked actors. Although harassment is a criminal offence, the RCMP determined that the threshold for criminal charges had not been met in Chong’s case. This has raised concerns about the effectiveness of Canadian law enforcement’s response to foreign interference, especially in high-profile cases where diplomatic tensions with China are already strained.

Flynn acknowledged the difficulties the RCMP has encountered in bringing charges related to foreign interference under previous legislation, adding that with the new legislation being introduced this summer, “only time will tell” whether the changes will lead to more successful prosecutions.

He emphasized that with the introduction of Bill C-70, which includes new offenses related to political interference, the RCMP may need to reassess its resources for addressing foreign interference.

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