Indigenous groups ignore security concerns from potential China deals

'The PRC tries to undermine trust between Indigenous communities and Canada’s government by advancing a narrative that the PRC understands and empathizes with the struggles of Indigenous communities stemming from colonialism and racism,' according to a CSIS spokesperson.

Alex Dhaliwal
  |   December 05, 2024   |   News   |   1 Comment

Intelligence officials have warned First Nations groups against striking business deals with China, citing grave security concerns. The 2024 Canada China Business Council (CCBC) indigenous trade mission ignored those calls with the aim of selling access to Canada’s natural resources. 

At the heart of those talks was a commitment to “economic reconciliation,” which Canada’s national security apparatus says is an attempt by China to gain influence over indigenous groups.

China has directly meddled in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections and was “the most active foreign state actor engaged in interference” in the country.

“China knows how sensitive Indigenous reconciliation is to the Trudeau government,” said Phil Gurski, a former CSIS intelligence analyst. Relations between Canada and China have been especially rocky in recent years. 

A 2023 CSIS report accused China’s government of employing “grey zone, deceptive and clandestine means” to influence Indigenous communities, following Canadian sanctions on Beijing over its “genocide” of Uyghur Muslims.

“The PRC tries to undermine trust between Indigenous communities and Canada’s government by advancing a narrative that the PRC understands and empathizes with the struggles of Indigenous communities stemming from colonialism and racism,” a CSIS spokesperson told the Financial Times.

Dr. Matt Vickers, from Sechelt Nation in British Columbia, and Chairman and CEO of NorthernNations Cooperative, downplayed interference concerns in an interview with the publication. 

“China now understands that for any major project to receive approval in Canada, you need First Nation consent, and not only consent but the First Nations require a majority equity play in those projects,” he said. 

Dr. Vickers first visited China in the 1990s, and joined the CCBC this year as part of a 15-person trade mission delegation. The prior trade mission provided NorthernNations with “invaluable contacts,” he said.

Rebel News sought clarity on their business dealings with China and potential security concerns they posed, but did not hear back at publication.

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa declined to comment on allegations of foreign interference. 

NSICOP, a national security and intelligence body consisting of Parliamentarians, published a highly redacted report in June alleging unidentified collusion with China. It notably reviewed alleged interference by Chinese proxies in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.

Their “multifaceted approach” to foreign meddling included “bribery, censorship, coercion, and co-optation to exert influence,” the Parliamentarians learned.

“Many of the same tactics used to target elected officials at the federal level are replicated with provincial, municipal, and indigenous officials,” reads an unredacted version of the June 2019 NSICOP report, exclusively obtained by The Bureau. 

According to CSIS, indigenous governments are “soft targets” in foreign meddling schemes, wherein the security apparatus warns of Beijing getting a foothold in Canada. 

The Chinese Communist Party (PRC) seeks to exploit tensions between Canada’s federal government and First Nations over matters of jurisdiction, according to the 2019 NSICOP report. Beijing sought relations with First Nations under false pretenses, it said.

“It not only undermines the government but is a way to potentially embarrass them in Canada's past,” said Gurski. 

In 2011, the First Nations Energy and Mining Council (FNEMC) launched the First Nations & China: Transforming Relationships strategy to facilitate business deals with China, and to “represent the interests of B.C. First Nations in cases in which they perceived the Canadian state and Canadian investors are not adequately representing their interests.”

The strategy preceded a ten-day trade mission to China, coordinated by the National Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and FNEMC that October to “discuss … partnership opportunities with Chinese government officials and Chinese businesses.”

More broadly, B.C. First Nations desired “greater political control” over all foreign investment in resource extraction on indigenous reserves.

According to a Minister Counsellor at the PRC Embassy, the trade mission was merely a “beipian” — a ploy to conceal China’s desire to control indigenous-owned natural resources, as detailed by the 2019 NSICOP report.

Chinese intelligence researched every First Nations leader that joined the trade mission, it said. The Minister Counsellor concluded that “Chiefs are ‘blind’ when dealing with the PRC and have no interest in knowing more.”

Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat, told The Bureau that “the idea of making friends with Aboriginal people for Chinese strategic purposes, would be part and parcel of their overall agenda to get access to the Canadian north and the natural resources that are there.”

“China would be fully aware of the Aboriginal leaders that have permission to give exploitation of resources,” Burton said. “But we don’t know to what extent gifts or benefits may have been given to the Aboriginal people from the Chinese regime.”

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Alex Dhaliwal

Calgary Based Journalist

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2024-12-05 18:56:34 -0500
    When will all Canadians learn that China can’t be trusted. Never trust a regime based on lies and brute force. Some one needs to do an intervention and save these indigenous groups from being conned.