Work Underway to Shut Down Montreal’s Suspected Chinese Police Stations, Says Trudeau Advisor

The Sino-Quebec Center in Brossard, Quebec, is seen on March 9, 2023. RCMP says it's investigating this organization, along with the Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal, which are allegedly clandestine overseas Chinese police service stations. (Noé Chartier/The Epoch Times)

The federal government is working on shutting down Montreal-area suspected Chinese police stations, says an advisor to the prime minister, but this is complicated by staff there being Canadian citizens.

“There is continual investigations by the RCMP into the police stations. We are aware of two in Montreal and work is being done to ensure that they cease to operate,” National Security and Intelligence Advisor Jody Thomas said on June 1.

“Unfortunately, they’re not police stations. They’re often staffed, managed by Canadian citizens, and what we have to do is shut down their activities.”

Thomas was testifying before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in relation to its investigation into the Chinese regime’s targeting of MPs.

The two Montreal-area suspected police stations Thomas mentioned refer to the Service à la famille chinoise du Grand Montréal (SFCGM) and Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud (CSQRS), located respectively in Montreal and in Brossard, Quebec.

Both entities are run by Brossard City Councillor Xixi Li. Neither Li nor the centres have responded to multiple inquiries from The Epoch Times.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said in late April that all Chinese police stations in Canada had been shut down, but the SFCGM issued a statement afterward saying that wasn’t the case. “We didn’t receive any request to shut down from the RCMP,” it said.

The RCMP took the rare step in March to say publicly it was investigating both organizations, which have served Chinese immigrant communities for decades with programs like government-sponsored language training.

In response to news of the investigation, the SFCGM said in a statement that the principle of presumption of innocence should be respected.

The investigation into Chinese police stations located abroad appears to have started after Spanish NGO Safeguard Defenders released a report on the matter in September 2022. To date, seven such entities have been identified in Canada.

Formal Ties to the United Front

Before these alleged Chinese regime driven activities were revealed, several Chinese-language news sources reported on the formal ties between the Montreal-area community organizations and Beijing’s Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO).

The centres established a partnership with OCAO in 2016, and in 2018, the OCAO was moved under the aegis of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department (UFWD).

Canadian immigration and border services view the OCAO as an entity involved in espionage and manipulation, according to court proceedings, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service views the UFWD as a tool to co-opt elites, influence, and facilitate espionage.

Conservative MP Blaine Calkins asked Thomas to clarify her comments about efforts to shut down the organizations.

“So if they’re conducting United Front operations, whether they’re using Canadian citizens or not in their employment, are you saying that because of who they’re using in their employment they’re not running a covert police station in Canada?” he said.

“I’m saying that sometimes the individuals who are working in these are unwitting or they’re coerced, or they’re forced,” replied Thomas before being interrupted.

“But is that what’s actually happening, Miss Thomas?” asked Calkins.

“Every situation is different. There is no one pattern,” said Thomas, who added that the RCMP has used different tools to deal with the police stations to reduce their impact and credibility.

“There would be value in our ability to arrest people for them, and those investigations are underway by the RCMP,” she said. Thomas added that based on her understanding, the Chinese police stations that were operating in Toronto and Vancouver have ceased their operations.

Proxies Monitoring the Diaspora

Conservative MP Luc Berthold asked Thomas for additional information on the stations and whether she was aware of Chinese diplomats involved in monitoring the diaspora.

She said she did not have more information on stations, but spoke of “proxies of diplomats that are working contrary to the interests of the diaspora community.” She did not elaborate.

The Chinese diplomat declared persona non grata in early May was said to be spying on dissident groups, the Globe and Mail reported.

Global Affairs Canada decided to expel Chinese consular officer Zhao Wei after the Globe revealed he was involved in targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong with a Chinese spy service.

The federal government has yet to arrest anyone related to the Chinese police stations. The United States, which contrary to Canada has a foreign agent registry, has recently charged individuals involved with a station in New York City under those provisions.

The Liberals opened consultations on a foreign influence registry in March in response to pressure built up from national security leaks in the media depicting widespread interference by the Chinese regime.

Consultations are now completed and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told the committee on June 1 that the government has received “positive support to proceed.” No timeline has been floated with regard to when a bill will be introduced on this matter.

A bill to enact a foreign agent registry has already been tabled by Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos in March 2022, but it has not received the support of the government.