RCMP official won't say whether Chinese 'police stations' are still operating in Canada

An RCMP official appearing before the foreign interference inquiry today refused to say whether any Chinese government «police stations» are still operating in Canada.

Asked by lawyers and later by journalists whether any of the so-called police stations are still active here, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mark Flynn cited an ongoing investigation.

«That again falls into part of our ongoing investigation and I'm not speaking about it at this time,» Flynn told reporters.

In 2023, the RCMP said it was investigating facilities set up by the Chinese government on Canadian soil. The centres have been accused of harassing and intimidating members of the Chinese community in Canada.

In June 2023, the RCMP said it had «shut down illegal police activity in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia» connected to Chinese police stations.

The matter of Chinese police stations was just one of several alleged instances of foreign government activity on Canadian soil the RCMP refused to comment on Thursday, citing ongoing investigations.

RCMP officials also pointed to investigations when asked about the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, reports of extortion rings run out of India and the recent U.S. decision to charge two Russians in a $10 million scheme to illegally fund Tenet Media and influence it to push Russian propaganda.

«We are currently engaged with domestic and international partners on this matter,» said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brigitte Gauvin, adding that a number of Canadian laws could apply to the Tenet Media case.