The RCMP says it won’t release the complete agreement it signed with China’s Ministry of Public Security without Beijing agreeing to achieve this, despite demands from the federal Conservatives and NDP for answers on what it incorporates.
In an announcement to Global News on Wednesday, RCMP spokesperson Robin Percival said the memorandum of understanding signed in January “outlines specific types of mutual collaboration” on policing, the exchange of data and investigative assistance, but didn’t give further details.
“The RCMP won’t unilaterally make public or share the contents of an MOU with a 3rd party without the concurrence of the opposite party,” Percival said.
“As such, the RCMP shouldn’t be releasing the contents of the MOU right now.”
The statement added that such agreements are “a quite common practice between national law enforcement agencies” searching for recent or enhanced co-operation, and the RCMP has many MOUs in place with agencies all over the world.
The MOU was certainly one of several signed during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to China in January, which included recent co-operation agreements on forestry, trade, tourism, energy and food safety.
While the complete text of a lot of those MOUs has been released, the one with China’s Ministry of Public Security has not.
A joint statement from Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping after their meeting said the 2 sides had “committed to strengthening law enforcement cooperation to combat corruption and transnational crimes, including telecommunication and cyber fraud and illegal synthetic drugs in accordance with their respective laws.”
“The 2 sides committed to continuing their bilateral law enforcement cooperation annual working group meeting mechanism, under which a counternarcotics dialogue is a key part, and securing more concrete achievements to make sure the safety and security of the 2 peoples,” the statement added.
Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo and NDP public safety critic Jenny Kwan have individually written letters to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree calling for the MOU’s release, saying the small print need to be scrutinized by MPs and Canadians.
In her letter dated May 12, which was also addressed to Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Kwan said Canadians should know what information the RCMP is sharing with Beijing under the agreement.
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She noted China’s Ministry of Public Security has been linked repeatedly by international human rights organizations, journalists and democratic governments to intimidation campaigns abroad, and demanded to know if safeguards are in place to stop Canadian information from getting used against dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists or diaspora communities.
“Combatting fentanyl trafficking, cybercrime, and transnational organized crime is definitely vital,” Kwan wrote.
“Nevertheless, these objectives cannot come on the expense of democratic transparency, public trust, or the protection of vulnerable communities who already face intimidation from authoritarian state actors.”
She added that organizations including Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in Canada, in addition to the Uyghur and Tibetan diasporas, have said the secrecy across the agreement has created fear and uncertainty of their communities.
Caputo said last Thursday that he has yet to receive a response from Anandasangaree to his own letter dated Feb. 9, which highlighted the necessity for parliamentary oversight on problems with public security.
“At a time when Beijing is targeting democratic institutions and intimidating Canadians on our own soil, secrecy is unacceptable,” Caputo said in an announcement that again called for the MOU’s release.
“Canadians need to know exactly what the Liberals agreed to behind closed doors.”
Each Caputo and Kwan are also searching for briefings from ministers and department officials on the RCMP-China agreement to Parliament and relevant committees.
Kwan said in her letter that the federal government must also “meaningfully seek the advice of” with diaspora communities on their safety concerns, including the chance of transnational repression.
Government gives few details in Parliament
Public Safety Canada recently answered some questions on the agreement in a written response to a matter from Conservative MP John Williamson tabled in Parliament.
The response said agreements with law enforcement agencies in other countries require confidentiality and due to this fact will not be released to the general public.
It said the agreement with China outlines areas of collaboration, including the exchange of data, investigative assistance, the sharing of best practices specific to technical expertise and training, and co-ordination with other domestic law enforcement agencies.
The memorandum prescribes that each one co-operation is to be undertaken in accordance with the domestic laws, international conventions and the inner policies of every party, and is guided by the principles of sovereignty, equality and mutual profit, the response added.
Information exchanges follow Canada’s legal framework and the memorandum doesn’t create legally enforceable obligations, the response said.
“Information sharing must abide by the Canadian legal framework and align with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s mandate,” Public Safety added.
It also said mutual respect for sovereignty is a foundational principle of RCMP memorandums with foreign law enforcement agencies.
“Countering foreign interference, including transnational repression, is a priority for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and this informs risk assessments around information sharing and co-operation with foreign entities,” Public Safety said.
The RCMP also has robust internal processes and mechanisms to make sure compliance with federal law on avoiding complicity in mistreatment by other countries, the department said.
Caputo said Thursday that those answers were unsatisfactory.
“The Liberal government is now asking Canadians to just accept, without scrutiny, that information-sharing with the identical government poses no threat,” he said in his statement. “I feel that’s unbelievable.”
— with files from The Canadian Press