Business
Call for Federal Inquiry as Pressure Mounts for Release of Buried Report on Buddhist Land Transactions in PEI
The Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society
The authors of a new book, Canada Under Siege, allege that a religious group linked to the Chinese Communist Party has been involved in a pattern of suspicious land transactions across Prince Edward Island — Canada’s smallest province, which they say is increasingly a flashpoint for questions about national security, land control, and transparency.
The authors — former RCMP superintendent Garry Clement and publisher Dean Baxendale — are pressing for the release of an investigative report they believe was suppressed, and for a new provincial probe commissioned this year to show concrete progress.
As scrutiny from the authors and from media including CBC and The Bureau has increased this year, the long-sought 2018 land-investigation report at the centre of the controversy — prepared by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) — may finally surface, after a legislative standing committee issued a subpoena for the document. The report, which examined land holdings on Prince Edward Island, including those of several Buddhist-affiliated entities, was never released publicly by the regulatory body.
The authors, along with a group of concerned PEI citizens were joined in Ottawa yesterday by Wayne Easter, a retired nine-term Liberal MP and former chair of the House Finance Committee. Easter requested a judicial inquiry into suspected corruption tied to land transactions, saying he is among many Prince Edward Islanders alarmed by suspicious dealings involving the Buddhist groups. (The author of this story also spoke at the press conference on PEI investigations and foreign interference.)
Easter stressed that critics do not believe the Buddhist followers who have come to live and work in the communities established by the China-linked organization are engaged in wrongdoing. Rather, he warned that clandestine actors may have infiltrated and exploited the group’s land holdings for undisclosed purposes.
“You need a federal public inquiry that can subpoena witnesses, trace bank accounts,” Easter said.
In response to a CBC report linking the religious group to Chinese Communist Party entities, representatives of the organizations involved strongly denied the allegation, stating that their activities have no political connection to the CCP.
Clement and Baxendale called for a federal inquiry into what they described as land dealings consistent with money laundering, routed through shell companies and religious non-profits.
Adding to those calls, Jan Matejcek, a PEI-based lawyer who has conducted his own investigations with a group of concerned Island residents, says the provincial government’s apparent reluctance to release a prior report into the land dealings of the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society, conducted from 2015 to 2018, “raises some doubt about this government’s commitment to transparency.”
Documents reviewed by The Bureau show that the decade-old investigation, authorized under section 15 of PEI’s Lands Protection Act, examined land holdings of several Buddhist-affiliated corporations — including the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society, Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute Inc., Moonlight International Foundation, and related companies — before being declared concluded in January 2018. No findings were ever made public.
A November 2024 letter from Housing Minister Steven Myers, obtained by The Bureau, and addressed to IRAC CEO Doug Clow, is titled “Re: Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute Inc. and Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society.”
In the letter, Myers wrote:
“I am writing to request that the Commission provide an update on the 2018 land investigation file relating to the above-noted organizations. Given the public interest and recent inquiries from legislators, I ask that the Commission provide a summary of its findings and the status of any recommendations or follow-up actions.”
That earlier investigation is now under renewed scrutiny following a February 2025 directive from Myers ordering IRAC to reopen the case under new powers added to the Lands Protection Act in 2022. The minister cited “public interest” and the need to examine potential direct or indirect control of the corporations’ land holdings, requesting a full report on whether the organizations had contravened the Act or its regulations.
This scrutiny follows mounting concern among residents and lawmakers that PEI’s land protections — designed to prevent excessive concentration of farmland — have been undermined by complex corporate structures and opaque beneficial-ownership chains.
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“The government is acting fast and loose with the definition of ‘capital. Handing out corporate welfare shouldn’t be considered ‘capital.’
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to focus on reducing debt rather than distorting the financial picture by watering down the definition of “capital” spending, as noted by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
“The PBO shows the government is inappropriately expanding the definition of ‘capital’ spending,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “The reality is taxpayers need to cut through Carney’s budget spin and look at one number: How fast is the debt is going up?”
The Carney government announced it’s separating operating and capital spending in its budget. It also released its criteria for what it would consider capital spending.
The PBO’s analysis found that “Finance Canada’s definition and categories expand the scope of capital investment beyond the current treatment of capital spending in the Public Accounts of Canada.”
The PBO added that “based on our initial assessment, we find that the scope is overly expansive and exceeds international practice such as that adopted by the United Kingdom.”
“The government is acting fast and loose with the definition of ‘capital,’” Terrazzano said. “Handing out corporate welfare shouldn’t be considered ‘capital.’
“Regardless of the spending category, more debt means more interest payments and that’s what taxpayers need to focus on to hold the government accountable.”
The PBO’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook projects this year’s “deficit to increase sharply to $68.5 billion.” Debt interest charges will cost taxpayers $55.3 billion this year. That means that paying interest on the federal debt will cost each Canadian about $1,300 this year.
“The government is trying to muddy the water with its accounting nonsense,” Terrazzano said. “The government should stop focusing on cutting the numbers and instead focus on cutting the debt.
“Taxpayers will need to cut through all the accounting noise from the government and focus on one question: Is the debt going up or down?”
From the Fraser Institute
By Jake Fuss and Alex Whalen
In the latest chapter of a seemingly never-ending saga, Canada Post workers are on strike again for the second time in less than a year, after the federal government allowed the Crown corporation to close some rural offices and end door-to-door deliveries. These postal strikes are highly disruptive given Canada Post’s near monopoly on letter mail across the country. It’s well past time to privatize the organization.
From 2018 to the mid-point of 2025, Canada Post has lost more than $5.0 billion, and it ran a shortfall of $407 million in the latest quarter alone. Earlier this year, the federal government loaned Canada Post $1.034 billion—a substantial sum of taxpayer money—to help keep the organization afloat.
As a Crown corporation, Canada Post operates at the behest of the federal government and faces little competition in the postal market. Canadians have nowhere to turn if they’re unhappy with service quality, prices or delivery times, particularly when it comes to “snail mail.”
Consequently, given its near-monopoly over the postal market, Canada Post has few incentives to keep costs down or become profitable because the government (i.e. taxpayers) is there to bail it out. The lack of competition also means Canada Post lacks incentives to innovate and improve service quality for customers, and the near-monopoly prohibits other potential service providers from entering the letter-delivery market including in remote areas. It’s clearly a failing business that’s unresponsive to customer needs, lacks creativity and continuously fails to generate profit.
But there’s good news. Companies such as Amazon, UPS, FedEx and others deliver more than two-thirds of parcels in the country. They compete for individuals and businesses on price, service quality and delivery time. There’s simply no justification for allowing Canada Post to monopolize any segment of the market. The government should privatize Canada Post and end its near-monopoly status on letter mail.
What would happen if Ottawa privatized Canada Post?
Well, peer countries including the Netherlands, Austria and Germany privatized their postal services two decades ago. Prices for consumers (adjusted for inflation) fell by 11 per cent in Austria, 15 per cent in the Netherlands and 17 per cent in Germany.
Denmark has taken it a step further and plans to end letter deliveries altogether. The country has seen a steep 90 per cent drop in letter volumes since 2000 due to the rise of global e-commerce and online shopping. In other words, the Danes are adapting to the times rather than continuing to operate an archaic business model.
In light of the latest attempt by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to shakedown Canadian taxpayers, it’s become crystal clear that Canada Post should leave the stone age and step into the twenty-first century. A privately owned and operated Canada Post could follow in the footsteps of its European counterparts. But the status quo will only lead to further financial ruin, and Canadians will be stuck with the bill.
Jake Fuss
Director, Fiscal Studies, Fraser Institute
Alex Whalen
Director, Atlantic Canada Prosperity, Fraser Institute
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