More 'Chinese police stations' likely in Canada, says Minister
1 min read . Updated: 14 May 2023, 08:46 PM IST
PremiumThe Canadian Press reported in May that the centers were operating normally, despite the minister's statements that all secret stations in Canada have been shut.
Months after police said they were investigating if two community centers in Montreal were being used to intimidate or harass Canadians of Chinese origin, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on 14 May that there may be more 'Chinese police stations' operating in Canada.
"I am confident that the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] 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," Marco Mendicino told CTV’s Question Period in an interview.
Earlier in March, Canadian police said they were investigating the centers in Montreal. The Canadian Press reported in May that the centers were operating normally, despite the minister's statements that all secret stations in Canada have been shut.
Though China has denied allegations of interfering in Canada's affairs.
Mendicino's comments follows tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions by Ottawa and Beijing.
Earlier, Canada expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei lasyt week following an intelligence report accused him of trying to target a Canadian lawmaker critical of China's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority.
The following day China expelled Canadian diplomat Jennifer Lynn Lalonde from Shanghai.
The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has appointed a special investigator to look into the issue as it has been under pressure to clamp down on suspected Chinese interference.
With agency inputs.