In this series of articles I will reveal the truth of what is really happening with the recent influx of Buddhist Monks, Nuns, Parishioners and CASH to Eastern PEI, and how the PEI government has not only been turning a blind eye to these happenings, but has been enabling them to proceed with their long-term plans.

PREAMBLE

This past Monday evening (August 31, 2020) my brother and I travelled down to Montague to attend the Three Rivers Council meeting. It had come to my attention that council was planning to vote on a motion to approve a permit for a dormitory, which is phase II of the development in Brudenell for the Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute (nuns).

Several members of the public were given 5 minutes to address council with any concerns. It was clear from the dynamics and discussion that the motion was most likely going to pass. Some councillors – and especially the Mayor – commented that all the t’s were crossed and i’s dotted on the application, so what would be the grounds for denying the permit? The fear that someone might accuse council of being ‘racist’ if it wasn’t approved was palpable, with the meeting starting with an apology from one councillor for a comment he made at the last meeting:

“During discussion Councillor Holland said, “Not to say I won’t support it in the future but not this evening until we have a firm discussion with our Buddhist community about what we want Brudenell to look like in 50 years time. Do we want it to look like Brudenell? Or do we want it to look like downtown Hong Kong?” [See: “Councillor opposes new development at Buddhist Institute,” Eastern Graphic].

It’s unfortunate that the message “what we want Brudenell to look like in 50 years time” got overlooked.

One citizen attempted to draw attention to how all the individual decisions approving developments, permits, purchases of houses and land, etc., were all happening in isolation from one another. The former mayor of Brudenell, who was in the gallery, explained that there never was a plan or long-term vision presented by the Buddhist monks outlining their true intentions for Eastern PEI.

There are growing concerns about all the houses being purchased and left empty -all the farmland that is not being farmed. Why do monks and nuns need all those assets? Again, a comment was made by the Mayor that what council was duty-bound to address was the only issue to decide, nothing else.

At that point I addressed council to say that I had travelled to the meeting out of a sense of moral responsibility to let council know that I was in possession of very alarming information about the true plans and hidden activity of the monks and nuns. Without providing details beyond indicating that laws have been broken and covered-up, and that council would be ‘voting blind’ if the motion was passed without the benefit of knowing more about what’s really going on behind the scenes, I lobbed my warning and sat down.

After I spoke, some councillors expressed concern that the vote be postponed. Council decided to do exactly that – postpone the vote for a couple of weeks to allow members of the community to ask questions and/or express concerns to council.

A Synopsis of What’s to Come

It was not my intention to publish anything on this investigation for a few weeks. However, given the pending vote by Three Rivers Council – and the unbelievable silence and sheer irresponsibility of the provincial government, which have had all the same information that I have since last November, yet were not willing to share it with Montague councillors – I decided to go public at this time with the claims I intend to prove in subsequent articles:

1. The feature graphic for this series came from the Bliss and Wisdom (the parent organization for GEBIS and GWBI) in Taiwan. It is the long-term plan: to bring between 20,000 and 30,000 laypeople to Eastern PEI. The complex (community of buildings) is estimated to cost roughly 1/2 billion.
2. GEBIS (monks) and GWBI (nuns) present as separate entities, but operate as one entity. A third group (CGI) is also now on PEI, and the plan includes at least 3 more Buddhist groups to locate in Eastern PEI; all presenting as separate corporate entities, however, operating under Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS).
3. Nuns and monks are buying property as both non-residents and permanent residents of PEI without having to go through IRAC and or obtain Executive Council approval, often hundreds of acres of farmland which they have no intention to farm. There have also been a huge number of land and home transactions (one resident told me at least 200) where many monks, nuns, laypeople each purchased 5 acres, thereby circumventing IRAC and Executive Council completely. The use of ‘bundling’ non-resident names to purchase is common.
4. International Students at GEBIS and GWBI are receiving wire transfers from Taiwan and/or China and are then ‘donating’ large sums to the monastery.
5. Buddhist laypeople are coming into PEI under the federal “temporary foreign worker” program as ‘volunteers’.
6. Buildings and land purchased by ‘individuals’ clearly belong to the monasteries – in one instance I took a picture of a building with a sign on the door indicating it is a GWBI residence; however, the purchase was made by 5 laypeople at the direction of GWBI.
7. There is very strong evidence that suggests money laundering is also happening; however, that part of the investigation is being undertaken by a federal Liberal MP and his staff with whom I’m in close contact. Money laundering is a criminal offence and falls under federal jurisdiction.
8. Non-profit organizations such as Moonlight International have little or no activity or business, but seemingly have as their chief purpose purchasing land and assets.
9. Land purchased by parishioners is being used by the monks and nuns as if they owned it, with no lease agreements.
10. The GEBIS library is on land owned by an individual monk – adjacent to the Monastery. The GEBIS monastery is surrounded by parcels of land that’s part of the grounds of the monastery, but owned by individual monks
11. When IRAC began an investigation into GEBIS and GWBI in 2015-16, there was a ‘freeze’on any further land purchases. GWBI purchased a large property in Brudenell during that time with the names of 5 parishioners (laypeople) to avoid IRAC application, which was explicitly stated as the purpose of purchasing that way…to evade IRAC.

Based on the above information, Three Rivers council should postpone a decision pending the outcome of an investigation.

Why is the Government Covering Up This Massive Scandal?

Last November, Bloyce Thompson – both our Attorney General and Minister of Agriculture and Land – spent a few hours touring Eastern PEI. During the visit and tour, he got a full briefing on what was going on with the Buddhists (see 11 items above).

The local Eastern PEI guide pointed out hundreds of lots forming huge swaths of land already owned by the monks or nuns, as well as hundreds of empty houses – properties purchased by the monasteries, individual nuns and/or monks, or family members and/or ‘parishioners’. Entire residential developments have been purchased.

At one point, standing in the kitchen of his guest with his Deputy Minister and MLA Cory Deagle, Minister Thompson held up a document he was provided confirming illegal activity and apparently blurted:, “There’s the smoking gun right there!” I’ll provide a copy of that letter in a future article.

Thompson had been informed that the Great Wisdom Institute had employed a similar strategy in British Columbia, and a plan was hatched for that individual to accompany Minister Thompson on a trip to British Columbia to investigate what happened there with the Buddhists and what measures the B.C. government had taken to deal with it. Then things went silent.

Calls to Minister Thompson were not returned, and Minister Thompson chose to keep information about this scandal secret. The following exchange between Green MLA Michele Beaton and Minister Thompson less than two months ago in the Legislative Assembly was all about that missed trip and opportunity, and Ms. Beaton with visible distress, demanded some action from the minister to protect PEI land.

Bloyce Thompson on BC Trip, July 3. 2020: Watch YouTube Video Here

Notice that Minister Thompson references “empty house tax” as a possible remedy (to a problem he didn’t mention), and says “…try to avoid that sort of situation here on the Island” but doesn’t mention what ‘situation’ he was talking about.

At no time does Bloyce mention the situation on the Island, the Buddhist monks, or what exactly he was referring to when he said “…try to avoid that sort of situation here on the Island.” No one had a clue what that exchange was really about.

For Minister Thompson to have stood in the House and not disclose what he knew was going on was bad; for him to state, “As far as I’m aware, we, there, we can’t, we don’t think there’s any hidden real estate, as far as we’re aware” is unconscionable.

His stated promise that: “We will pick this up as soon as possible, Mr. Speaker, and address this situation,” has so far been forgotten and has brought only continued silence and an extension of cover-up.

Address this situation?

This should have been the #1 priority of government the very day Mr. Thompson learned about this massive scandal last November, 2019, almost a full year ago. What a betrayal!

Not only was the situation not addressed – it was buried completely, despite the fact that there is a very well-orchestrated campaign underway by the monks and nuns to deceive Islanders and the PEI government about their true intentions and plans. A lot of things should happen next, including forced divestiture of roughly 7,000 acres of land beyond the 3,000 limit for corporations. More on the possible legal and/or legislative remedies for this situation will be explored in future articles.

The really sad thing for me to witness is the way the “poison” accusation of ‘being racist’ has allowed PEI to be taken to the cleaners by people who we welcomed openly to become a part of our society, but want little or nothing to do with us. They form non-profits and corporations that have no substantive activity or do little or no business. These corporate entities buy land under the pretense of being a separate entity when they are not. In fact, they don’t even hide that once the transactions are complete.

We’ve been taken, and the many people in Eastern PEI that I’ve spoken to are increasingly fearful of the monks, but they would never state that publicly. As will be explained in a future article in this series, there is a ‘diaspora’ happening and those fleeing Taiwan and/or China have found a little paradise in which to relocate.

What is this government going to do about it? Why didn’t Cory Deagle speak up about this situation when Minister Bloyce failed to do so?

Is this the legacy Premier King intends to leave his beloved Georgetown and Eastern PEI?

This government is so incompetent and steeped in back-room corruption nothing will be done until it is forced. Nothing has been done so far, likely because lawyers, real estate agents and accountants are making a fortune while Eastern PEI is slowly being transferred, parcel by parcel, house by house, into the hands of the Buddhists.

If you recall, a previous attempt to bring GEBIS before the Standing Committee – despite the motion already having been passed – was “undermined’ by a subsequent motion introduced by former Liberal Minister Allen Roach who showed up at the next meeting for that very purpose.

He attempted to justify that cowardly move with despicable accusations that for members to bring GEBIS before the committee would be ‘racist’. Like usual, all that is required is the mention of the word to seize control of the situation, which Roach did. Now look at the mess we’re in.

I suppose Roach had his personal reasons for pulling that stunt – he had just sold his house to a member of that community for a tidy sum over three-quarters of a million.

Every citizen of Three Rivers should write to their Councillors asking that this current permit not be approved until such time as a full investigation and appropriate legal actions and resolution is found for the people of Eastern PEI who are being quietly displaced with smiles and flowers and threats of being called racist.

It wouldn’t hurt for a few non-residents to write to the government for an explanation for this sordid betrayal, and to show support for our fellow Islanders currently under siege in Eastern PEI.