Canada police investigating 2 alleged Chinese ‘police stations’ in Montreal

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) – Canadian police said Thursday they are investigating reports of two Chinese “police stations” allegedly used to threaten and intimidate Chinese Canadians in the North American country.

The stations are located in Montreal, with one in the city proper and another in the city’s suburbs.

“We are carrying out police actions aimed at detecting and disrupting these foreign state-backed criminal activities, which may threaten the safety of persons living in Canada,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement.

In October, the RCMP opened investigations into three other so-called police stations said to be operating in Toronto. Police were alerted to the stations’ presence by the Spain-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders. More than 100 stations have been reported in at least 50 countries, including the US.

An RCMP spokesman said Chinese Canadians “have been victims of the possible activities conducted by these centers” and that the conduct “will not be tolerated.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that he is “very concerned” about the alleged Chinese "police stations."

"We're in the process of making sure the RCMP is following up on this and that our intelligence systems are taking this seriously," he said.

Former Canadian Security Intelligence Service senior intelligence officer told CTV News that the stations are “foreign interference” that attempts to “gain influence within the business community and the industrial community, in order to be capable to get access to industrial secrets, or intellectual property.

Tactics used to coerce Chinese Canadians into doing what they are told include denying suspects' children in China a chance to get an education and punishing relatives.

The Chinese government has previously denied the accusations, saying the stations help Chinese citizens with issues like renewing their driver's licenses because many were unable to return to China due to COVID restrictions.​​​​​​​