A Quebec court judge has ruled that the case against a former RCMP officer charged with helping China conduct foreign interference can go ahead in the province.
Judge Sacha Blais denied William Majcher’s bid to quash the indictment against him.
Lawyers for the 61-year-old argued in April that the charges should have been filed in British Columbia or Ontario rather than in Quebec, which has no specific ties to the alleged infractions.
Get daily National news
But Blais says the law clearly states that an offence against the Security of Information Act can be tried anywhere in Canada, regardless of where it was committed.
Majcher, who attended the hearing by video conference, is charged under the act with conspiracy and with committing preparatory acts for the benefit of a foreign entity.
- Okotoks man charged after thousands of child sexual exploitation photos found
- Ottawa to extend steel, aluminum tariff support measures for another year
- Parents of girl killed by cardiac arrest get defibrillator installed in rural Alberta town
- Canada’s AI strategy to be released as survey suggests public trust gap
Authorities allege 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.
His charge sheet says he committed the crimes in Vancouver, Toronto, Hong Kong, and other unnamed places in Canada, China and “elsewhere in the world.”
The case returns to court in June in Longueuil, Que., south of Montreal, and the trial is scheduled for October.
Comments
Comments closed.
Due to the sensitive and/or legal subject matter of some of the content on globalnews.ca, we reserve the ability to disable comments from time to time.
Please see our Commenting Policy for more.