Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: Senator Gold, last week, the Minister for Security in the United Kingdom announced that after an investigation of the so-called police stations in the U.K., no illegal activity was found at any of these stations.

When will the RCMP and the Minister of Public Safety in Canada do the same for the investigations that are ongoing with the so-called police stations in Canada, particularly in Montreal?

Senator Woo: Senator Gold, in the meantime, there are organizations and individuals who have been maligned by these accusations. They have had their funding cut for services that provide language training and settlement for immigrants. They remain under a cloud, and they continue to be slandered by the media and by others, including some in our own Parliament.

Senator Gold, what can the minister do to provide some support for these organizations that have not been charged with anything — where the evidence from other countries suggests that the so-called police stations are a hoax? What is the government going to do to provide some remedies for organizations that are under siege?

Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: Senator Gold, you have just heard Senator Housakos make a grave and baseless allegation against Chinese Canadians in Montreal who are associated with certain community organizations. He was referring, of course, to Minister Mendicino’s declaration that all of the so-called Chinese police stations in the country have been shut down, including one alleged to have been located at the Service à la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montréal and another at Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud in Brossard.

Senator Gold, what evidence did police find to substantiate the claim that there were Chinese police stations in Montreal? What illegal activities have been stopped?

Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: Senator Gold, you have just heard Senator Housakos make a grave and baseless allegation against Chinese Canadians in Montreal who are associated with certain community organizations. He was referring, of course, to Minister Mendicino’s declaration that all of the so-called Chinese police stations in the country have been shut down, including one alleged to have been located at the Service a la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montréal and another at Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud in Brossard.

Senator Gold, what evidence did police find to substantiate the claim that there were Chinese police stations in Montreal? What illegal activities have been stopped?

Senator Woo: That begs the question as to why the minister said all the Chinese police stations have been stopped. In fact, no evidence has been produced to confirm that there were Chinese police stations in Montreal, and no information has been offered to suggest that the two organizations did anything wrong.

However, the naming of these two groups and Minister Mendicino’s breezy declaration that all police stations have been shut down has cast a pall over the organizations for no reason other than fear, stigma and, dare I say it, racism. Funding for the good work of these organizations has been cut, including French‑language classes and settlement services for new immigrants. The 50-year-old Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal is now on the brink.

Senator Gold, when will the government clarify that the two organizations have done no wrong, and that, in fact, it is the organizations that have been wronged by reckless allegations, including one we heard today in this chamber? How will the government provide compensation for reputational and financial damage?

Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: Senator Gold, the media reports to which Senator Plett and Senator Housakos referred are based entirely on anonymous, unverified sources who are selectively leaking what appears to be classified information. I would point out that senior officials, when asked to comment on this kind of information, have described it as “not truth,” “incomplete” and “rumours.”

The government has gone ahead with the appointment of a special rapporteur, but what is the government doing to investigate not just who broke the law by leaking classified material, but also into the broader effort by elements in and around the intelligence establishment who are using clandestine methods to spread unverified information that subverts our political system and stigmatizes many Chinese Canadians?

Senator Woo: In the same vein, Senator Gold, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, NSIRA, recently released a damning report on the way in which CSIS can instruct third parties, such as private corporations, to take action against individuals based on a secret risk assessment without taking responsibility for the adverse effects on individuals and entities.

What is the government doing in response to the NSIRA report to rein in any overreach on the part of our intelligence agencies?