Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has acknowledged that there could be new “Chinese police stations” in Canada, despite his previous statement that all the stations had been shut down.. Chinese police station Markham ONChinese police station in Markham, Ontario .Mendicio said that the RCMP will take action to close any new police stations, when they are found..In the fall of 2022, the Spanish human rights organization Safeguard Defenders (SD) claimed to have discovered over 100 alleged “Chinese overseas police stations,” including several in Canada..According to SD, these stations are used to spy on Chinese dissidents living in Canada and other countries and gather information on opponents of the Beijing regime under the pretense of assisting Chinese citizens living abroad..China has denied any allegations of foreign interference by these stations..“I am confident that the RCMP have taken concrete action to disrupt any foreign interference in relationship to those so-called police stations, and that if new police stations are popping up and so on, that they will continue to take decisive action going forward,” Mendicino said on Sunday during an interview on Question Period..Two community groups in Montreal were reported to be under investigation for operating Chinese police stations in May, despite continuing to operate normally..READ MORE Conservative MPs want to question Chinese Ambassador about covert operations.When asked about the timeline of which stations were closed and whether any still existed, Mendicino responded he had been “very clear” at the committee that the RCMP had already taken decisive action in the past..“That doesn't mean that there can't be new foreign interference activities,” said Mendicino..“Our expectation is that if those activities manifest, if there is foreign interference, that yes, the RCMP will take decisive action as they have in the past.”.While stating that his job is to ensure the RCMP has all the resources it needs to carry out its work, Mendicino made it clear that the RCMP operates independently from the government..The Canadian government has just completed consultations on the proposal to establish a foreign agent registry similar to those in Australia and the United States..However, Mendicino did not provide a timeline for implementing a foreign agent registry..“Look, we want to set this tool up as quickly as we can, but we also have to do it in the right way,” said Mendicino..“And I can tell you that the conversations that I've had through the consultation period have been very informative and instructive.”.READ MORE Investigation launched into Chinese harassment of MPs.Reports of alleged Chinese police stations operating in Montreal and consultations on a foreign agent registry have raised concerns about Chinese interference in Canada..The Trudeau government's decision to expel a Chinese diplomat has only added to the growing concerns about Chinese interference in Canada.
