Advocacy Groups Call for Independent Inquiry Into Alleged CCP-Linked Land Purchases in PEI

Two advocacy groups are calling on the Prince Edward Island government to scrap a regulatory investigation into land purchases and activities by organizations allegedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party, and replace it with an independent public inquiry.

Democracy Watch and the Save PEI Association say the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC), which is carrying out the investigation, has conflicts of interest, as its chair held a role in provincial government when the land purchases were approved, according to a May 19 news release.

The organizations called for a “fully independent, expert inquiry” in a letter to P.E.I. Land Minister Darlene Compton, Premier Robert Lantz, and opposition leaders on May 19. They said they see “no evidence” that the IRAC investigation has “the independence, scope, resources or expertise needed to be effective.”

The advocacy groups say the organizations under investigation—the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute (GEBIS) and Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute (GWBI)—are headed by Bliss & Wisdom Monastic Corporation, which they say is the largest employer in P.E.I. and has “massive operations” in Taiwan, China, and across Canada and the United States.

Both GEBIS and GWBI were identified as the focus of the IRAC probe launched last February, when then-Housing Minister Steven Myers announced the investigation into their land holdings.

The groups have faced scrutiny in reports that say it has attended events organized by the Chinese regime and has ties to China. The groups have denied maintaining ties to China.

Amid increased scrutiny, GWBI published comments related to its land holdings, noting it owns approximately 670 acres—below the 3,000-acre limit for corporations under the Lands Protection Act. GEBIS is also said to own less than the legal limit.

P.E.I. Green Party Leader Matt MacFarlane has expressed concerns that the combined land holdings of the two organizations, which he suggested may be attributed to a single legal owner, could exceed the regulatory threshold and thus be considered a circumvention of the law, according to CTV News.

MacFarlane introduced a bill, which was passed with unanimous support by the province’s legislature last November, to make public land investigation reports by the IRAC, aiming to restore trust in provincial institutions following concerns over extensive land holdings.

Democracy Watch and Save PEI are requesting that the P.E.I. Legislative Assembly re-launch the investigation as a new public inquiry under the province’s Public Inquiries Act, staffed by a “truly independent” commissioner and investigators with the “expertise and resources required to investigate activities of a massive international organization, spanning more than 15 years.”

They say the commissioner and investigators should come from outside the province and be appointed through a merit-based candidate review process with the participation of opposition party leaders.

The province announced on May 14 it would launch an independent review of the IRAC’s role, structure, and responsibilities.

The Epoch Times contacted the IRAC and the premier’s office for comment but did not hear back by publication.

Province Calls for Probes

The P.E.I. government called last October for the RCMP to investigate evidence related to revelations about CCP operations in the province, and for the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) to investigate allegations of money laundering by foreign actors in the province.

The allegations were shared at a press conference in Ottawa last October by Garry Clement, former national director of the RCMP’s proceeds of crime program, who outlined the findings of an investigation he helped conduct into how Beijing exploited immigration loopholes and leveraged elite capture to infiltrate P.E.I.

Premier Lantz had said the allegations involving the groups referenced in Clement and Juneau-Katsuya’s investigation about China’s ambitions to acquire land in P.E.I. “build on years of public speculation and uncertainty.”

Last October, the RCMP said it would review allegations of foreign interference and money laundering in the province in light of the new information.

Democracy Watch and Save PEI said in their letter that the RCMP began its investigation and received a “significant amount” of information on the same issues that are of interest to the IRAC, but the RCMP’s work “does not appear to be coordinated with the work of the IRAC and of its special counsel,” nor does there appear to be coordination with FINTRAC.