Authorities allege retired RCMP officer William Majcher used his network of Canadian contacts to obtain intelligence or services that benefited China.Supplied
A retired RCMP officer charged with conducting foreign interference on behalf of China has won his bid to have the case moved out of Quebec, a ruling that could make it harder for the Crown’s prosecution.
The venue for the case against William Majcher was switched to Vancouver Monday.
Mr. Majcher’s lawyers had argued this spring in a Longueuil, Que., courtroom that the charges should have been filed in British Columbia or Ontario, noting their client was not alleged to have committed any offences in Quebec.
A Quebec superior court judge agreed in a ruling released Monday, granting Mr. Majcher’s application to quash the indictment against him in that province.
Authorities allege Mr. Majcher, a resident of Hong Kong, used his network of Canadian contacts to obtain intelligence or services that benefited the People’s Republic of China.
The Crown immediately refiled the charges in Vancouver the same day. Ryan Carrier, a Crown prosecutor in Vancouver, said a warrant for Mr. Majcher’s arrest was issued Monday morning after the charges were refiled. He said a bail hearing would be conducted in a B.C. provincial court.
“I am in a position to confirm that charges have been laid today in Vancouver,” Marc Cigana, a federal prosecutor told The Globe and Mail in an e-mailed statement.
Explainer: A guide to foreign interference and China’s suspected influence in Canada
The change in venue could make it more difficult for the Crown to prosecute its case. It now must advance the case in a province on the other side of the country where, like all cities, Crown prosecutors face already-heavy workloads.
Mr. Majcher’s charge sheet says he committed the crimes in Vancouver, Toronto, Hong Kong and other unnamed places in Canada, China and “elsewhere in the world.” He was arrested in July, 2023, days after arriving from Hong Kong.
The RCMP investigation into Mr. Majcher was based in Montreal, which is why court proceedings were initiated in Longueuil, the Crown explained in 2023.
In his ruling, Quebec Superior Court judge Daniel Royer overturned a lower court’s decision, agreeing with the defence. “The charges must be laid in one of the territorial jurisdictions where he is alleged to have committed the offences in Canada, or where he is or resides,” Judge Royer wrote.
He disagreed with the Crown prosecutor in Quebec who had argued Section 25 of the Security of Information Act allows for the laying of a charge anywhere in Canada, regardless of where it was committed.
“The Act must be interpreted as permitting the offences to be tried anywhere in Canada but commenced in the territorial division in Canada where they are alleged to have occurred or where the accused is or resides, except if the offences are alleged to have been committed outside Canada,” Justice Royer wrote.
Ian Donaldson, a lawyer for Mr. Majcher in British Columbia, welcomed the ruling. He said his client’s position was always that the Security of Information Act did not authorize the prosecution to be commenced “in any jurisdiction at the Crown’s whim.” He added it “would be quite unfair,” for example, if a person was facing allegations tied to an incident in Toronto and was tried in Iqaluit.
Mr. Donaldson said he has no doubt the Crown will be able to find the personnel necessary to pursue the case in Vancouver. “This is an interesting case with a lot of fertile ground to till,” he said.
As The Globe and Mail reported last year, the Mounties believe Mr. Majcher was targeting a wealthy Vancouver real estate entrepreneur named Kevin Sun as part of his alleged activities for Beijing.
Confidential law-enforcement information from the RCMP and FBI provided to The Globe in 2023 laid out the reasons why he faces two charges for alleged offences under the Security of Information Act.
The RCMP believe Mr. Majcher used contacts and expertise to help the Chinese Ministry of Public Security in support of its Operation Fox Hunt and Operation SkyNet projects: efforts cast by Beijing as global anti-corruption campaigns, but which Western security agencies have said have also been used to target and silence dissidents.
The RCMP Integrated National Security Enforcement team in Montreal alleges that Mr. Majcher collaborated with another former RCMP officer, Kenneth Marsh, to compel Mr. Sun to co-operate with China’s MPS and Public Security Bureau, according to the investigation called Project Severo. The Globe is not identifying the source who provided details of the project because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
In an interview with CTV News in March, Mr. Majcher told the network he is a “patriot,” not a “traitor,” and was ready to challenge the charges.
With reports from the Canadian Press