RCMP Chief Says Probe Into Montreal Groups Alleged to Double as Chinese Police Stations Based on ‘Credible’ Info as Groups Sue

The South Shore Sino-Québec Centre 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, both allegedly serving as clandestine overseas Chinese police service stations. Noé Chartier/The Epoch Times

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says the force’s investigation into two Montreal Chinese organizations alleged to operate as Chinese police stations is based on “credible” information. The reaction comes as the organizations launched a nearly $5 million defamation lawsuit against the force for its investigation.

“It’s not the first time that we’re sued because we’re investigating,” RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme told Radio-Canada’s Les coulisses du pouvoir. “All I’m saying is that the information that was brought to us was credible enough for us to launch an investigation. That investigation is still ongoing at this time.”

In March 2023, the RCMP disclosed an investigation into the Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal (SFCGM), in the city’s Chinatown neighbourhood, and the South Shore Sino-Québec Centre (CSQRS), in Brossard, part of the Greater Montreal area.

A month later, the police force said it was continuing to actively probe “reports nationally of criminal activity in relation to the so-called ‘police’ stations.” Five other locations have been identified, two in British Columbia and three in Ontario, for similar alleged covert functions on behalf of the Chinese regime.

In a March 6 court filing, the two Montreal centres’ executive director Xixi Li accused the RCMP of improperly disclosing its investigation to the public.

“Being targeted as Chinese ‘police stations’ by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police condemned the plaintiffs in the court of public opinion and found them ‘guilty’ before formal charges were even laid,” says the statement of claim filed with Quebec Superior Court.

The organizations said they’ve suffered a $3.2 million loss as a result, which included cuts to government grants. They had received federal funding of more than $400,000 combined between 2010 and 2022 for programs to support seniors and job opportunities for youth. The groups are seeking over $4.9 million in damages from the federal police force.

The RCMP’s investigation followed the release of two reports by Spain-based human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders in 2022. The NGO identified a total 102 unofficial Chinese police stations across 53 countries worldwide. It also warned about the stations’ role in intimidating and harassing the Chinese diaspora, including critics of the Beijing regime, in some cases.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.