Canada cannot be ‘ignorant’ to China’s threat of international repression: report – National
Researchers behind a new report on international pressure are warning Canada should not be “sweating” as it seeks better relations with China, which remains a top criminal in intimidating and harassing dissidents abroad.
A report by the Montreal Institute for Global Security (MIGS) called international repression “one of the worst but most misunderstood threats to Canada’s security and democracy,” and said China remains at the forefront of such efforts.
It cited several examples, including so-called “police stations” and online influence campaigns targeting Chinese Canadian communities in the diaspora. Families still living in China are threatened, the report adds, and women are being targeted by AIs for deep sex.
Speaking at a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday to mark the release of the report, its authors said they recognize the importance of diversifying Canada’s economic ties to address US costs, but security should not come at the expense.
They acknowledged India, which Ottawa also wants to improve trade and communications relations, as another example.
“We must not enter into agreements that could put our citizens at risk,” said Kyle Matthews, executive director of MIGS.
“We have to open our eyes, and we can’t close our eyes to the imperial threat from China, and we’re still standing. As many countries around the world facing international repression will tell you, China is one of the biggest players, if not the biggest player.”
The report comes a month after Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China and struck deals on trade, business and tourism that he said would build a “restructured” relationship after years of diplomatic difficulties.
On Sunday, China announced it was easing its visa requirements for Canadian tourists and business travelers, a move that those behind the report say should be met with caution.
“We should never assume that Canadian citizens traveling to China are not threatened with surveillance,” Matthews said.
Marie Lamensch, director of global affairs for MIGS and co-author of the report, said it will be important for Canada to maintain its visa requirement for Chinese travelers to ensure that agents of the Chinese Communist Party do not come to terrorize Canadians.
Phil Gurski, a former analyst for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said that the agency’s security research branch must also play a role.
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“If there are tourists coming from the People’s Republic of China, they should be checked through CSIS, which has its own intelligence sources, and has relations with its colleagues around the world,” he said. “And if CSIS objects to the information that shows that someone is untruthful or forthcoming about their background or their intentions to come to Canada, they should be denied entry.
“There is no right to come to Canada. It is a right.”
What other threats does Canada face?
The report makes it clear that China is not the only threat of international repression facing Canada.
It cites several examples of Russian, Indian and Iranian efforts to prevent conflict in other countries, while also highlighting the little-known threats posed by Algeria and Rwanda to their dispersal in Canada.
Several Global News investigations into Indian and Iranian oppression are cited in this report.
That investigation highlighted violent threats against Iranian dissidents and Sikh nationalist activists in Canada — particularly the Indian government’s alleged involvement in the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Earlier on Tuesday, Global News revealed that hundreds of foreign nationals are being investigated by Canadian authorities to come to BC only for alleged involvement in criminal activities led by an Indian gang, especially for Sikh Canadians.
The MIGS report also cites a Global News report on a 2024 warning from Canada and its Five Eyes intelligence partners that China and Russia are targeting civil society organizations such as journalists and nonprofits online.
It says that countries like China and India often force diplomatic staff to carry out repressive efforts abroad.
The authors of the report say that international repression is a “widespread phenomenon” and “a growing threat” and “is becoming more visible,” as several countries pursue it to varying degrees.
“I’ve talked to Iranian Canadians who are constantly receiving threats not to raise what’s happening in Iran here in Canada, not to protest against the government,” Gurski said, citing recent anti-government protests in that country that have been met with deadly war.
“I have a former colleague, a senior Saudi intelligence official who I met many years ago, and a Saudi military team was sent to Canada in the late 2010s to kill him and the things he was saying against the Saudi regime.”
Lamensch noted that even the threat of international repression is having a negative impact on democracy, as members of the diaspora are increasingly reluctant to speak out against abuse at home or to enter politics in Canada. They may feel compelled not to vote in the election, he added.
The report often cites the recent public inquiry into foreign interference, which issued a recommendation that the government take action against international pressure after hearing from diaspora communities, while noting that the issue goes beyond elections.
Among the recommendations of the MIGS report is the immediate establishment of Canada’s foreign influence registry to better track individuals who may be involved in repression efforts. The registration was created by a 2024 government law to address foreign interference but has not yet started.
The Liberal government said last month it had chosen Anton Boegman, BC’s former chief electoral officer, to lead registration but his appointment must be approved by Parliament.
Simon Lafortune, spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, told Global News that the 2024 law requires the commissioner to be approved within 30 days of being appointed, which means the House of Commons procedure committee and both chambers of Parliament have until February 28 to do so.
Questions about open enrollment have been referred to Public Safety Canada.
The MIGS report also calls on Ottawa to provide more resources and training to agencies such as the RCMP and municipalities to recognize and respond to international repression, improve public education and communication about such efforts, and improve international cooperation.
Last year, the Canadian-led G7 issued its first-ever leaders’ statement on international repression that acknowledged the growing threat and committed to creating a global accountability framework and measures to combat it.
A digital transnational repression discovery academy was launched in Toronto last fall, which aims to train participants from across the G7 to identify and counter digital and AI-led surveillance efforts, deception and abuse.
The US, which holds the presidency of the G7 this year, cut funding last year to programs by the US State Department that partnered with organizations such as Freedom House to monitor international oppression and develop tools to deal with it.
“We need to have more money coming to Canadian civil society organizations to do research that can’t be done in Washington,” Matthews said. “So this is an opportunity for Canada, with France, Germany, Italy, and other G7 partners, to make this a foreign policy first and a domestic priority.”
Lafortune said Anandasangaree’s office will take time to consider the MIGS report and its recommendations before commenting further.
