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A monk surveys the construction site at the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society in Heatherdale, P.E.I. in April, 2023.DARREN CALABRESE/The Globe and Mail
Canada’s national police force says it will review allegations of money laundering and foreign interference, levelled in a new book against a Prince Edward Island-based Buddhist group, but says previous investigations into similar claims found no evidence to back them up.
Last week, PEI Premier Rob Lantz urged the RCMP and FinTRAC, Canada’s anti-money-laundering agency, to probe long-standing allegations concerning Bliss and Wisdom, a Taiwanese-based organization that has significant land holdings in the eastern part of the province. The Premier’s letters to both agencies came days after a press conference featuring the authors of Canada Under Siege, a book, published in August, about the group’s alleged influence on the island.
In response, the RCMP issued a statement this week, explaining they have previously probed allegations that the group was involved in money laundering and illegally acting on behalf of the Communist Party of China, something the organization has consistently denied. Detractors of the group have claimed its spiritual leader, a Chinese-born woman called Master Zhen-Ru, has ties to the Chinese government.
“The results of these investigative efforts identified there was no evidence to support money laundering or other criminality regarding the land acquisitions in PEI and no foreign actor interference criminality was identified. All investigations were concluded as unfounded,” Kristine Kelly, an RCMP spokesperson, said in a statement.
PEI Premier calls for RCMP probe into land transactions involving Buddhist group
She added that in light of “new information and allegations” the Mounties are reviewing allegations dating back to 2015 and would be “re-assessing the previous investigations.”
Canada Under Siege, written by Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former CSIS intelligence officer, and Garry Clement, a former national director of the RCMP’s proceeds of crime program, questions whether the Chinese Communist Party used Bliss and Wisdom to quietly infiltrate Canada’s smallest province.
The authors, along with former solicitor-general Wayne Easter, say a federal public inquiry is needed to look into the landholdings and foreign ties of Buddhist groups operating in PEI. They say there needs to be more transparency around land ownership in the province, potential misuse of immigration pathways and the risk of exploitation of religious groups for foreign-state-aligned objectives.
A spokesman for the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS), one of the group’s monasteries on PEI, said the claims in the book have harmed his community and unfairly cast suspicion on their presence in the province.
Monks, money and the fierce debate over PEI’s scarce land
“We are deeply disheartened by a recent news conference, where fabricated allegations were used to target the Buddhist community in PEI. As a charitable and faith-based group that has served PEI for more than a decade, such persistent and malicious attacks against the Buddhists are extremely concerning,” said Dan Chang, a senior monk at GEBIS.
He said his organization welcomes any review of its land holdings in the province. PEI has strict limits on how much land foreigners can own, and Bliss and Wisdom’s critics say the group’s members buy property as nominee owners, but for the benefit of the organization. Mr. Chang insisted his organization’s affiliated properties fall under the provincial limit for foreign owners.
“We hope the authorities will look into all the allegations and make their findings public. It’s not fair for anyone to live under years of unfounded accusations. The fear and division caused by these rumours have led to real harm, including harassment of Buddhists and even of those who have simply shown kindness or support toward us,” Mr. Chang said.
The book’s publisher, Dean Baxendale, said he and the authors stand by the claims made in Canada Under Siege. He said its findings, verified through extensive interviews, official documents and responses from government bodies, are not a critique of the Buddhist faith but an investigation into China’s attempts to use Buddhism worldwide as a tool of foreign interference.
