ANALYSIS: Why RCMP Launched a Special Program to Counter CCP in Quebec

Toronto and Vancouver have the largest Chinese and Hong Kong diaspora populations in Canada, yet it was in Quebec that the RCMP launched a special program to encourage the community to report cases of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) harassment.
An RCMP spokesperson in Quebec previously told The Epoch Times that the program helps to overcome a “climate of terror that prevails” and to let the community members know that they don’t have to remain silent in the face of threats.
Michel Juneau-Katsuya, former chief of the Asia-Pacific unit at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), says the fact that the program has been launched only in Quebec doesn’t necessarily mean the CCP is significantly more active in its harassment tactics in that province compared to other parts of Canada. Rather, he credits the Quebec RCMP for taking leadership and being more proactive.
“The group in Montreal has demonstrated for several years now a much more innovative approach to their work on national security,” Juneau-Katsuya said in an interview.
The intelligence professional and author adds that this also doesn’t necessarily mean Quebec’s political class as a whole is more vigilant regarding the CCP threat than the rest of the country, but rather it is a credit to the RCMP unit there.
“They have, for example, initiated patrols in the streets of Montreal, where the [Chinese] community is located, in Chinatown, when it was reported to them that some people were trying to intimidate the community and shop owners,” he said.
Scott McGregor, a former Canadian Armed Forces intelligence operator and intelligence adviser to the RCMP, says Quebec-based Junueau-Katsuya himself has also played a key role in raising awareness about the issue in the province, which eventually led to more action. This included consultations and training for the law enforcement.
But he also notes that immigration programs in Quebec have made the province a port of entry from China, and that has in some cases allowed the unvetted entry of CCP operatives over the years.
Additionally, many of the well-connected companies that have been instrumental in Canada-China trade relations have their base in Quebec.
“Some pro-Beijing activists in Montreal may want to compete with their peers in Toronto and Vancouver,” he told The Epoch Times.
Fon added that some of the groups in Toronto and Vancouver may be keeping a lower profile in the face of added scrutiny on China’s interference, while those in Montreal may be more brazen.
Following months of media reports since late 2022, based on intelligence leaks about China’s interference in Canadian elections and other areas, the federal government launched a public inquiry into the issue under pressure from opposition parties. The inquiry is still ongoing and is expected to issue its final report by the end of this year.
Diaspora groups have long lamented the difficulty they face in reporting cases of CCP interference.
“I think they should advertise the resources that people can go to in case they face any harassment or intimidation or see anything happen, just like in Quebec and Montreal,” Tung said in an interview.
“The RCMP is a national police force, and therefore I don’t see why they will only do it in Quebec and not the rest of the country,” he told The Epoch Times.
RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Kim Chamberland says the police force continues to conduct outreach and raise awareness about foreign interference within communities across the country.
“While the RCMP video originated from INSET [Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams]-Eastern Region, it was amplified nationally as this issue is not unique to Quebec,” Chamberland told The Epoch Times.
“It’s important for all individuals and community groups living in Canada, regardless of their nationality, to know that there are support mechanisms in place.”
“For a long, long period of time, and I’m talking decades, the community would go to the police, and the police couldn’t do anything—not because they were not interested in doing something, but because until recently we didn’t have a definition of what foreign interference is about,” he said.