Montreal Chinese community centres serve RCMP with $5M defamation suit over 'police station' allegations
CTV
Two Chinese community organizations are suing the RCMP for defamation after the national police force alleged they were operating as 'police stations' for the Chinese government.
Two Chinese community organizations are suing the RCMP for defamation after the national police force alleged they were operating as "police stations" for the Chinese government.
The Chinese Family Services of Greater Montreal and the Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive Sud in the South Shore suburb of Brossard, as well as the two centres' executive director, Xixi Li, are seeking more than $4.9 million in damages, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Superior Court.
The community centres say they are "still in the dark" about specific allegations of any wrongdoing nearly a year after the RCMP made the allegations. They have denied the allegations, which have not yet resulted in charges.
According to human rights group Safeguard Defenders, so-called Chinese police stations are used to monitor and threaten Chinese citizens living abroad, sometimes forcing them to return to China for persecution.
The accusations damaged the "dignity and reputation" of Li, who is also a Brossard city councillor, according to a news release issued Wednesday.
"I hope that this lawsuit will permit an efficient dialogue between my clients and RCMP so that their reputation and the damages they suffered can be quickly repaired. My clients hope that the matter can be resolved amicably, but they are also ready to go to trial if needed. They will do what is required to repair their reputation," the groups' lawyer, Maryse Lapointe, said in the release.
