MARKHAM, ONT. -- As opposition parties fight for a public inquiry into foreign interference on Parliament Hill, a community watchdog is trying to shine a light on where political meddling often first takes hold - in local politics.
The Markham Coalition for Democracy was formed following months of allegations that entangled federal, provincial and municipal politicians in the Greater Toronto Area. Two illegal Chinese police stations have also been discovered in the city, leading some to believe that Markham is "ground zero" for Chinese interference.
Robert Mok, a long-time community activist and coalition member, says China is exploiting the city鈥檚 demographics and its weak policies.
Markham has a population of more than 350,000. According to Statistics Canada, 70 per cent of residents are people of colour. Nearly half are ethnic Chinese, while one-in-five residents was born in China.
鈥淭he whole thing about foreign interference is that you want somebody you want to be elected, so that eventually they can be a mouthpiece,鈥� said Mok.
GROOMING FOR HIGHER OFFICE
Mok says agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are helping get candidates elected in municipal elections, then supporting them as they make the jump to provincial and federal politics.
鈥淢unicipal politics is not non-partisan,鈥� said Mok. 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear some councillors are affiliated party members. You groom them鈥nd eventually they progress into the upper echelons - into higher levels of government.鈥�
Mok says the CCP works through established cultural organizations, ranging from recreation to business associations to direct donations toward a preferred candidate, and mobilizes votes and volunteers to get that candidate elected.
鈥淲e need to take a deeper look at the money,鈥� said Mok.
FINANCING IRREGULARITIES
Campaign finance reports for Markham鈥檚 municipal election in 2022 show that 11 of 41 candidates raised money surpassing the limit. By law, the excess fundraising monies go into city coffers.
麻豆传媒 analyzed the contributions and found some irregularities, including that one losing candidate raised more than twice as much money than was allowed.
Several reports revealed donations to one candidate from multiple people at the same address.
The most striking case involved donations attached to a home at 20 Edgecombe Court. Twelve people with different last names used the same address when they contributed to Regional Coun. Allan Ho last year. They made contributions to Ho鈥檚 campaign of either $500 or $1,000.
When a reporter visited the Edgecombe address, the homeowner said he didn鈥檛 recognize the names of several people on the donation list.
The councillor鈥檚 finances were audited and certified. Ho didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment and it鈥檚 uncertain if he is aware of this unusual pattern.
TOP FUNDRAISER
Markham鈥檚 deputy mayor, Michael Chan, is known in political circles as a prolific fundraiser and has campaigned for 鈥� by his own count 鈥� 45 politicians at federal and provincial levels. He previously served in former Ontario Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne鈥檚 government.
Chan is currently suing the federal government, CSIS and two journalists for using leaked information he says wrongly implicates him in election interference.
According to public records, Chan raised the most money during the 2022 municipal election campaign. His contributions totalled $224,776, more than $35,000 over the limit. Nearly half the donors supported Chan with the maximum allowed personal contribution of $1,200.
Chan says he鈥檚 a strong fundraiser because he 鈥渟hows up to honour鈥� people and 鈥済ives them respect.鈥�
鈥淧eople remember that,鈥� Chan said. 鈥淎nd when you need help in terms of contributions, they will support me.鈥�
The overwhelming majority of Chan鈥檚 donors have Chinese surnames.
When asked if his donors were predominantly supporters of the Chinese regime - the former Ontario trade minister responded, 鈥渢hey are people who support the country they come from.鈥�
EXPELLED DIPLOMAT IN ATTENDANCE
Another local politician who aspired to higher office is Ward 6 Coun. Amanda Collucci. She ran as an Ontario Liberal candidate in 2018, but returned to municipal politics after losing the race.
In January, Collucci hosted a Lunar New Year celebration. At that event, she presented more than $30,000 in donation cheques to York University and seniors' associations. Among the guests were officials with Toronto鈥檚 Chinese Consulate, including diplomat Zhao Wei who made a speech and posed for photos with Chan, Collucci and Mayor Frank Scarpitti.
Five months later, allegations surfaced that Wei tried to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong. The diplomat was declared persona-non-grata by the federal government and expelled.
Despite this brush with potential foreign interference, Mayor Scarpitti says the City of Markham hasn鈥檛 changed its policy regarding meeting with diplomats.
鈥淲hether a foreign diplomat makes speeches or attends an event in our community, they鈥檙e representing a country in their role. What they do between functions and other times 鈥� that鈥檚 beyond our ability to investigate and evaluate.鈥�
Scarpitti says national security officials haven鈥檛 warned him of any risks, and he continues to meet with consul-generals to pursue economic initiatives.
But there鈥檚 no requirement for the mayor or his council to log such meetings. Markham does not have a lobbyist registry.
鈥淚t means that stuff potentially is happening kind of in the shadows and in back rooms that people aren't aware of,鈥� says Reid McAlpine, a councillor who is also a member of the Markham Democracy Coalition. He鈥檚 pushing for a city policy to require lobbyists to register and for meetings with special interest groups to be put on the public record.
McAlpine says Markham鈥檚 registry should also include diplomats to safeguard against foreign interference.
鈥淟ocal politicians including school board trustees are more susceptible because we typically are out of the media spotlight and are probably more vulnerable to this sort of influence.鈥�
