Nearly twenty MPs voiced support for Falun Dafa and condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s interference campaign against Shen Yun, as practitioners of the spiritual discipline celebrated the 34th anniversary of the practice’s introduction to the public in Ottawa.
The event took place on Parliament Hill on May 5 and consisted of exercise demonstrations by practitioners, a marching band performance, speeches from MPs and other keynote speakers, as well as traditional Chinese song and dance performances. Similar celebrations take place in cities around the world each year.
MPs from different political parties delivered speeches at the celebratory event, which was attended by hundreds of Falun Dafa practitioners and other attendees.
Liberal MP Judy Sgro said the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, which Falun Dafa’s moral teachings are centred on, are values that “we all need to have.”
“These are universal values and values that resonate deeply in Canada and reflect who we aspire to be as a society,” said Sgro, who is also co-chair of Parliamentary Friends of Falun Gong.
Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, was introduced to the public in China in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Government statistics showed that between 70 to 100 million people in China took up the practice in the 1990s. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) deemed the practice’s popularity as a threat to its power, and started a campaign of persecution against Falun Dafa in 1999.
Sgro said it’s important to recognize that freedom can’t “taken for granted anywhere in Canada or anywhere else in the world.”
She also praised Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York-based classical Chinese dance company that aims to revive traditional Chinese culture. The company’s artists are Falun Dafa practitioners, and it has also been consistently targeted for interference by the CCP.
Sgro said Shen Yun’s performances are “magnificent” and she hopes Shen Yun continues to perform despite the CCP’s attempts to disrupt performances.
Shen Yun’s Return to Toronto
Conservative MP and Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman expressed her appreciation to be a part of the event, noting she first learned about Falun Dafa 20 years ago.
“I’ve been a long-time advocate to make sure that this place, Parliament Hill, has your voice heard,” Lantsman said.
“Here in Canada, you have a voice in me in Parliament, you have a voice in me in action, you have a voice in me to stand up to the bullies who try to shut down things like Shen Yun, and I’m very happy to see it return to Toronto in the next month,” Lantsman added.
Six of Shen Yun’s scheduled performances in Toronto were cancelled in late March and early April after the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, the show’s venue, received bomb threats from an email account bearing a Chinese name, although police confirmed the threats were not credible.
Combatting Foreign Interference
Conservative MP James Bezan expressed his appreciation for Falun Dafa, saying practitioners have made Canada a “better nation” and a “stronger country.”
“Since 1999, the practitioners of Falun Dafa have been subject to cruel and inhumane practices in China carried out by the communist regime,” Bezan said. “The atrocities, the illegal organ harvesting, the ongoing brutality, and reprogramming of Falun Dafa practitioners is something that we have to continue to shine the spotlight on.”
Bezan noted parliamentarians and the government in Canada must ensure people are not subjected to acts of transnational repression, such as the recent cancellations of Shen Yun performances.
“These types of threats can never be taken lightly, but at the same time, we should not just bow down to these individuals who have direct ties back to the communist regime in Beijing and allow them to suppress our freedoms that we enjoy right here in Canada,” he added.
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, co-chair of Parliamentary Friends of Falun Gong along with Sgro, thanked Falun Dafa practitioners for defending freedom in Canada and “combatting the scourge of foreign interference.”
“I am concerned that we now have an approach at the executive level in this country that is again naive about the threats posed by the CCP,” Genuis said. “People here in Canada must be free to express themselves, to share their opinions, to make beautiful art and present it without foreign state backed interference.”
‘Unacceptable’ to Have Threats Against Shen Yun
Liberal MP Yvan Baker welcomed Falun Dafa practitioners back to Parliament Hill, noting that he first learned of the discipline and the persecution by the CCP in 2004. He said truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance are values that all Canadians cherish.
“We also cherish our human rights, and we’ve enshrined protections for human rights in our Charter of Rights,” Baker said. “Falun Dafa practitioners continue to be the victims of persecution and as elected officials, and I think indeed as Canadians, it’s important that we stand for those rights and stand up in defence of those rights and fundamental freedoms.”
He added, “Recently, we’ve seen threats against Shen Yun performances, and not only the performers, but also the audiences who plan to attend those performances. It’s unacceptable, it’s a crime in Canada, and it has to stop.”
Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi said it was great to see practitioners in large numbers at Parliament Hill, while noting the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa in China.
“We are standing up here today, calling for respect… regardless of faith, tradition, perspectives. That’s what we are calling for today, and we will continue to call for,” he said.
‘Stay True’
Conservative MP Scott Reid applauded Falun Dafa practitioners for their resilience, saying it’s hard to think of any other spiritual group who has stayed as true to its principles and values as Falun Dafa has.
“To stay true to the goals of truth, compassion, forbearance in the face of persecution is absolutely extraordinary,” Reid said. “To see it done by so many people is a testament to the power of those beliefs.”
He told the Falun Dafa practitioners on Parliament Hill, “You’re a great contributor to many things—to the recognition and spreading of the fundamental values of Chinese culture and society and civilization, to the rest of the world, to capturing and ensuring respect for those in the face of a government within China that is not respectful to its own culture and heritage, and to guiding us all with principles that are the foundation stone of all civilizations.”
Conservative MP Roman Baber noted he was born in the communist Soviet Union, where he said the only religion allowed was communism. He recalled the fear his family had about having a Jewish prayer book that his grandfather read on the Jewish New Year.
“Thinking now that if the communists found that book he’d probably be sentenced to five years in a labour camp seems like such a surreal concept in 2026,” Baber said.
He noted that today in communist China, millions of Falun Dafa practitioners are still being persecuted and are prohibited from openly practising their discipline. “We have to be very clear morally about which side of humanity we stand on,” he said.
The Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, where Shen Yun performs, was also a target of hoax bomb threats prior to the performing arts company’s April 8-12 run, but the theatre allowed the shows to proceed after police confirmed the threats were not credible. Police determined that the phone number associated with the email account from which the threats were sent is based in China. The email came from the same sender that sent the threats to the Toronto venue hosting Shen Yun.
“What is it that the regime in Beijing is scared of so much? It’s scared of our unity, it’s scared of our moral clarity, it’s scared of the fact that we can organize and get a good amount of people out,” Baber said.
Persisting Despite Persecution
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said Falun Dafa must always be protected and respected, and she commemorated former MP and secretary of state David Kilgour, who for years worked to raise awareness about the persecution of Falun Dafa, and together with Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas, investigated the CCP’s organ harvesting of Falun Dafa practitioners.
CCP’s Transnational Repression
Conservative MP Sandra Cobena said the celebration of Falun Dafa’s 34th anniversary sends a “powerful message that dignity cannot be suppressed, that peaceful expression cannot be erased, and that the pursuit of spiritual freedom is a right that belongs to every human being.”
She noted that many practitioners have stories of resilience and fleeing persecution in China to find refuge in countries like Canada that uphold freedom.
“Freedom of belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of conscience are amongst the most fundamental rights we hold, and they form the foundation of open and democratic societies,” Cobena said.
“Yet, we know that in many parts of the world, individuals are still persecuted simply because of their beliefs or for practising their faith peacefully. Even here at home, we have seen how authoritarian regimes attempt to extend their reach beyond their borders.”
Conservative MP John Brassard also expressed support for Falun Dafa, saying he admires practitioners’ courage in the face of direct pressure from the CCP, as was seen with the cancellation of Shen Yun shows in Toronto.
“I admire your tenacity, I admire your faith, and I admire your resilience in ensuring that the Falun Dafa movement continues to grow, not just here in Canada, but around the world,” Brassard told practitioners on Parliament Hill.
“I want to say thank you for being here on Parliament Hill today, and thank you for practising what you believe in without fear.”
Conservative MP Fred Davies said he just recently learned about the persecution Falun Dafa practitioners face, and was happy he could join the event to celebrate the spiritual discipline’s anniversary of public introduction.
“This is a beautiful day… You’ve come to Ottawa, you’ve graced the grass in front of the Peace Tower, which is symbolic of our democracy here in Canada—the freedoms we enjoy, the freedoms you enjoy,” Davies said.
‘Always Stand Against Persecution’
Conservative MP Larry Brock also commended Falun Dafa, noting practitioners have been able to celebrate freely in Canada for 34 years, while those in China continue to suffer persecution.
“We will always stand against persecution of those who simply want to practice their faith,” Brock said. “Your values of truthfulness, compassion, forbearance ring true here in Canada as well.”
Brock added he looks forward to seeing Shen Yun in Toronto.
“I will always stand shoulder to shoulder with you. We have your backs,” he told practitioners on Parliament Hill.
Conservative MP Michael Guglielmin congratulated Falun Dafa on its 34 year anniversary, noting the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance are values that “help shape the future of this country.”
‘We Condemn the Chinese Communist Party’
Conservative MP Dan Muys said Canada can’t tolerate acts of interreference such as the hoax bomb threats that initially led to the cancellation of Shen Yun shows in Toronto.
“It’s incredible news that it is now back in Toronto, and I hope that I can join you in Toronto for that performance at the end of June, because we’ve got to celebrate that,” Muys said.
“We condemn the Chinese Communist Party… for all they are doing to try and suppress this, ... whether it’s organ harvesting, it’s the banning of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and the transnational aggression that’s happening in terms of trying to stop the shows to take place in other parts of the world.”
Conservative MP Costas Menegakis also welcomed Falun Dafa practitioners back to Parliament Hill, saying it is “wonderful” to walk out of the chamber and see the sea of practitioners wearing yellow and blue on the Hill.
“Where you can have a voice and an opinion, you can feel free and really be part of what makes Canada the beautiful country that it is,” he said.
Menegakis also noted he was “especially delighted” to hear that Shen Yun will be returning to perform in Toronto in June, despite the CCP’s efforts to cancel it. “The people’s voice was heard and it is coming back. That’s what democracy is all about,” he said.
Conservative MP Connie Cody extended her best wishes to Canadian practitioners of Falun Dafa, saying their perseverance, commitment, and faith are “truly inspiring.”
“For over 30 years, Falun Dafa has spread the principles of benevolence and forbearance to the lives of millions, making an impact in communities across the country through its many volunteer and charitable initiatives,” Cody said.
She also noted that through the CCP’s transnational repression, practitioners “continue to be persecuted around the world, including here in Canada,” an issues she said is a “threat to our national sovereignty.”
“However, despite these attacks, which have taken place as long as Falun Dafa has existed, your community perseveres,” she told practitioners.
