Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz says he wants a federal investigation into allegations of Chinese foreign interference and money laundering in his province by two Buddhist groups.

The premier has written letters to the RCMP and to a federal anti-money-laundering agency, asking them both to look into the allegations.

In the letters, Lantz says his province is concerned about allegations that the province has been used as an operating base for the Chinese Communist Party.

While the two Buddhist groups have been a source of public speculation and uncertainty over several years, he said comments made by a former solicitor general of Canada and former RCMP superintendent in Ottawa in early October have reignited the issue.

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“Equally troubling are suggestions, made by the same individuals, that Prince Edward Island has been used as a forward operating base for the Chinese Communist Party. These are serious allegations.”

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The Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute in Brudenell, P.E.I., is a monastery for nuns, mostly from Taiwan, about 200 of whom live at the monastery while another 300 live nearby. In 2019, the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society included about 600 monks – most from Taiwan – living on separate campuses in Little Sands, P.E.I., and Heatherdale, P.E.I.

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