The RCMP says the full agreement with which it was signed will not be made public China’s Ministry of Public Security without Beijing’s consent, despite calls from the federal Conservatives and NDP for answers to its contents.
In a statement to Global News on Wednesday, RCMP spokesman Robin Percival said the memorandum of understanding signed in January sets out “certain forms of mutual cooperation” in the areas of policing, information sharing and investigative support, but did not provide further details.
“The RCMP will not unilaterally publish or share the contents of a memorandum of understanding with any third party without the consent of the other party,” Percival said.
“Therefore, the RCMP is not releasing the contents of the memorandum of understanding at this time.”
The statement added that such agreements are “a very common practice between national law enforcement agencies” seeking new or increased cooperation, and that the RCMP has numerous memorandums of understanding with agencies around the world.
The memorandum of understanding was one of several signed during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to China in January, covering new cooperation agreements in forestry, trade, tourism, energy and food security.
While the full text of many of these memorandums of understanding has been published, the one with China’s Ministry of Public Security has not yet been published.
A joint statement Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping said after their meeting that both sides were “committed to strengthening law enforcement cooperation to combat corruption and transnational crime, including telecommunications and cyber fraud, as well as illegal synthetic drugs, in accordance with their respective laws.”
“The two sides are committed to continuing the mechanism of their annual working group meetings on bilateral law enforcement cooperation, of which anti-narcotics dialogue is a central component, and to achieving more concrete achievements to ensure the security of both peoples,” the statement added.
Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo and NDP public safety critic Jenny Kwan have separately written letters to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree calling for the memorandum of understanding to be released and saying the details deserve scrutiny by MPs and Canadians.
In her May 12 letter, which was also addressed to Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Kwan said Canadians should know what information the RCMP is sharing as part of the deal with Beijing.
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She noted that China’s Ministry of Public Security has been repeatedly linked by international human rights organizations, journalists and democratic governments to intimidation campaigns abroad, and demanded to know whether safeguards are in place to prevent Canadian information from being used against dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists or diaspora communities.
“Combating fentanyl trafficking, cybercrime and transnational organized crime is undoubtedly important,” Kwan wrote.
“However, these goals must not come at the expense of democratic transparency, public trust or the security of vulnerable communities already subject to intimidation attempts by authoritarian state actors.”
She added that organizations including Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in Canada and the Uyghur and Tibetan diaspora have said the secrecy surrounding the deal has caused fear and uncertainty in their communities.
Caputo said last Thursday that he had not yet received a response from Anandasangaree to his own letter dated February 9, in which he highlighted the need for parliamentary oversight on public safety issues.
“At a time when Beijing is targeting democratic institutions and intimidating Canadians on our own soil, secrecy is unacceptable,” Caputo said in a statement that reiterated calls for the memorandum of understanding to be made public.
“Canadians deserve to know exactly what the Liberals agreed to behind closed doors.”
Both Caputo and Kwan are also seeking information from ministers and ministry officials on the RCMP-China agreement to Parliament and relevant committees.
Kwan said in her letter that the government should also “consult meaningfully with diaspora communities about their security concerns, including the risk of cross-border repression.”
The government provides few details in parliament
Public Safety Canada recently answered some questions about the agreement a written answer to a question tabled in Parliament by Conservative MP John Williamson.
The response states that agreements with law enforcement agencies in other countries require confidentiality and are therefore not made available to the public.
It said the agreement with China outlines areas of cooperation including information sharing, assistance in investigations, sharing of best practices specific to technical expertise and training, and coordination with other domestic law enforcement agencies.
The memorandum stipulates that all cooperation shall be carried out in accordance with the domestic laws, international conventions and internal policies of each party and be guided by the principles of sovereignty, equality and mutual benefit, the response added.
The information exchange follows the Canadian legal framework and the memorandum does not create legally enforceable obligations, the response says.
“The exchange of information must comply with the Canadian legal framework and be consistent with the mission of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” Public Safety added.
It also said mutual respect for sovereignty is a fundamental principle of the RCMP memorandums with foreign law enforcement agencies.
“Combating foreign interference, including cross-border repression, is a priority for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and this informs risk assessments around information sharing and cooperation with foreign entities,” Public Safety said.
The RCMP also has robust internal processes and mechanisms to ensure compliance with the federal law to prevent complicity in ill-treatment by other countries, the ministry said.
Caputo said Thursday that those answers were unsatisfactory.
“The Liberal government is now asking Canadians to accept without scrutiny that sharing information with the same government poses no threat,” he said in his statement. “I think that’s incredible.”
– with files from The Canadian Press
