Calculation of Buddhist land holdings could lead to better enforcement of land limits, group hopes

An probe into Buddhist onshore holdings successful P.E.I. ordered by Minister of Land Steven Myers could supply the archetypal ineligible trial of measures successful the Lands Protection Act meant to forestall attraction of onshore ownership crossed multiple linked corporations.

It could besides peel backmost the curtain to supply Islanders with a glimpse into however that landmark portion of authorities is being enforced — something that hasn't been made nationalist for much than a decade.

On Feb. 4, Myers directed the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission to investigate the onshore holdings of the Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute (GWBI) and the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) "to find whether the corporations person contravened the [Lands Protection Act] oregon regulations."

In his missive to IRAC, Myers referred to a specific amendment to the enactment from 2022 that refers to nonstop and indirect power of land, representing the latest effort by Island lawmakers to forestall ample corporations with heavy pockets from getting astir the intent of the act.

LISTEN | This week's occurrence of the This is P.E.I. podcast takes a deeper dive into however overmuch onshore Buddhist groups ain connected the Island: 

The Lands Protection Act is simply a unsocial portion of authorities archetypal introduced successful the 1980s that sets limits connected the magnitude of P.E.I. onshore that individuals and corporations tin own.

It besides requires corporations and non-residents to use and person furniture support for immoderate onshore acquisition of much than 5 acres.

"We've been speaking for generations present of loopholes successful the Lands Protection Act," said Boyd Allen, a subordinate of the grassroots Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Lands. The conjugation has been calling for a overmuch wider reappraisal of firm and non-resident onshore ownership successful the province, but has welcomed the existent smaller-scope review into Buddhist onshore holdings.

Allen said a thorough probe successful this lawsuit "would supply a wide snapshot of where we request to bolster the LPA," which helium hopes leads to much proactive enforcement of the onshore limits for each parties — not conscionable the 2 groups named by the curate for the existent review.

Buddhist groups invited accidental to extremity 'speculation'

Both GWBI and GEBIS person denied suggestions that they ain much onshore than allowed by law, and accidental they invited the investigation.

"There's truthful galore rumours going around. I'd overmuch alternatively person everything retired successful [the] clear … conscionable basal everything connected facts," said Sabrina Chiang with GWBI. "Speculation… it's not a steadfast mode to unrecorded and it's not bully for the community." 

Provincial onshore records amusement that some organizations are good beneath the ownership bounds of 3,000 acres for corporations. The records amusement GEBIS owns 30 parcels of land, totalling astir 580 acres; GWBI owns 22 parcels totalling 663 acres.

Charitable taxation filings from the 2 corporations amusement they claimed a combined $161 cardinal successful assets successful 2023, including $78 cardinal worthy of onshore and buildings. 

Both groups besides accidental their onshore holdings should beryllium counted separately, and not combined arsenic portion of the larger Taiwan-based Tibetan Buddhist question called Bliss and Wisdom, with which some are associated.

There's nary mode to cognize if IRAC volition see each corporation's holdings separately, oregon whether it mightiness see different corporations related to Bliss and Wisdom. A erstwhile probe conducted by IRAC that concluded successful 2018 included GEBIS, GWBI and 3 different corporations: Moonlight International Foundation, Grain Essence Garden Inc.; and Splendid Essence Restaurant Inc.

The results of that probe person ne'er been made public.

Drilling down into publically disposable accusation connected immoderate of those corporations tin pb a idiosyncratic down a rabbit spread of corporations which look to carnivore immoderate commonalities — though that's not to accidental they would beryllium deemed to beryllium nether the aforesaid control.

For example, onshore titles owned by Moonlight International nexus backmost to the Charlottetown code of the Splendid Essence Restaurant, owned by Splendid Essence Restaurant Inc. 

In the P.E.I. government's firm registry, Splendid Essence lists the aforesaid shareholders arsenic Grain Essence Garden Inc. The firm mailing code for Grain Essence Garden leads to the Leezen integrated nutrient store successful Charlottetown, connected onshore owned by Canada Prajna Wisdom Co. Ltd., a federally registered corporation. One of the directors listed by the national authorities for that corp owns a parcel of onshore successful Cornwall that besides comes up arsenic the firm code for yet different corporation: Moonlight Charities Inc.

But adjacent if each these were counted together, their onshore holdings would inactive autumn beneath the limits acceptable retired successful the Lands Protection Act, totalling 2,275 acres.

Other onshore holdings that mightiness besides beryllium considered arsenic related to the Buddhist enlargement into P.E.I. see 504 acres owned by Hopetown Development Company, which is linked to a projected residential development, on with 499 acres held by the spiritual person of Bliss and Wisdom, Master Zhen Ru, nether her commencement sanction Meng Rong Jin.

All these onshore holdings taken unneurotic magnitude to 3,278 acres — inactive wrong the limits of the Lands Protection Act erstwhile exemptions for non-arable onshore are factored in, and good abbreviated of the 17,000 acres the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Lands has suggested is controlled by Bliss and Wisdom.

That 17,000-acre fig was included successful a 2023 communicative published by the Toronto Globe and Mail, though that communicative made it wide the Globe had not confirmed the figure.

GWBI and GEBIS person some asked the conjugation for a database of onshore parcels it utilized to get astatine the figure. CBC News has besides asked for that list, but the conjugation has said it's not capable to supply the information.

"Numerous media outlets person attempted to analyse these claims, but nary person been capable to get immoderate grounds to substantiate them," GEBIS said successful a Feb. 6 statement. "The overly inflated fig has caused fearfulness and part wrong our community."

In announcing the caller investigation, Myers said this: "What it comes down to — and this is the interest that you volition perceive astir the country that we're lasting [in] present now, successful Three Rivers — is the link[s], and who is connected to who, and are each the connections unneurotic 1 entity and are they implicit their onshore holdings?

"I deliberation that's what this probe is going to find out."

Should idiosyncratic onshore holdings beryllium included?

Questions person besides been raised arsenic to whether corporations falling nether Bliss and Wisdom person been progressive successful onshore purchases made by idiosyncratic monks, nuns, laic radical oregon their household members.

At a lasting committee gathering successful October 2020, Cory Deagle, past a backbench MLA and seat of the legislature's lasting committee connected earthy resources, brought guardant aggregate interior emails he said were from GWBI.

One email, relating to the imaginable acquisition of a home, included a proposition to "pretend that the laic radical are buying archetypal for amended dialog and past transportation to GWBI aboriginal earlier closing."

Another email included a database of 12 residential properties, whether they were winterized, and what they mightiness beryllium utilized for. At the committee meeting, it was disclosed that immoderate of the properties belonged to GWBI while others were owned by individuals.

Another email posed a question: "The onshore holding of 1 monk exceeds 750 acres. Should helium record a study with IRAC arsenic prescribed successful LPA close now?"

Yet different email disclosed that a location acquisition would see "five buyers to clasp rubric to avoid IRAC application" — seemingly successful bid to trim the fig of acres per purchaser to five or less, beneath the threshold astatine which a non-resident indispensable use for and person furniture support to acquisition spot successful the province.

CBC News has recovered different titles wherever onshore purchases were likewise capable to spell guardant with aggregate buyers, including 2 parcels of onshore successful Valleyfield that successful 2017 were sold to a radical including 15 non-resident buyers, each from the aforesaid state successful bluish China.

The adjacent year, the combined 75 acres of onshore were sold to a azygous nonmigratory onshore owner.

"We're not cleanable and we made immoderate mistakes but we ne'er person the volition to prevarication oregon to debar oregon to cheat," Yvonne Tsai, a nun with GWBI, said astatine the 2020 committee meeting.

"In the archetypal fewer years, possibly we were lacking of section cognition and we were advised by immoderate radical [on] what things tin beryllium done locally, but aboriginal on, we realized possibly that's not the close mode to bash it and we fixed it."

Joanna Ho also attended that 2020 gathering connected behalf of GWBI. In an interrogation with CBC News past week, she said that astatine the clip of those emails, the enactment was helping to span connection and taste barriers with individuals successful purchasing oregon maintaining properties connected the Island.

She said that assistance has since stopped.

"GWBI does not control, oregon we person nary interference successful the onshore oregon the idiosyncratic activities of idiosyncratic nuns," Ho said.

Concerns astir Irving onshore holdings too

Concerns person besides been raised astir different corporations that could ain much onshore than allowed nether the Lands Protection Act.

A CBC News probe past autumn recovered that 20 corporations with ties to the Irving household ain much than 12,000 acres on Prince Edward Island.

In the legislature past November, Myers said concerns astir Irving-related onshore holdings had "been fabricated by the Green Party."

In February, helium provided a much nuanced effect to the question of the Irvings, saying public unit and threats against municipal assembly members successful Three Rivers, wherever GWBI and GEBIS ain land, made those groups' holdings a bigger priority.

After that investigation, Myers said, "The doorway is unfastened for america to analyse immoderate entities we request to to fulfill the nationalist that we've done everything we tin bash to support the onshore successful P.E.I."

A cardinal to addressing the nationalist unrest that has surfaced astatine nationalist meetings of Three Rivers assembly volition beryllium to marque the findings of the caller probe public, which Myers has pledged to do.

The curate and a legislative lasting committee person some precocious requested IRAC supply a transcript of the study from its 2018 investigation, to nary avail. In some cases, the committee responded with a missive saying it was successful interaction with ineligible counsel implicit the matter.

When CBC News requested a transcript of that study done state of accusation legislation, IRAC responded by saying it could neither corroborate nor contradict the beingness of the report.

Similarly, the 2020 study from an probe into the Brendel Farms onshore transaction involving a subordinate of the Irving household has besides ne'er been made public. P.E.I.'s privateness commissioner said successful 2021 that the study could beryllium released successful effect to a state of accusation petition filed by CBC News — but that inactive hasn't happened, 4 years later.

The past clip IRAC posted a nationalist bid involving an probe nether the Lands Protection Act was successful 2014.

Green MLA Matt MacFarlane said the level of transparency with respect to the act has been reduced to the constituent "that decisions made wrong it volition ever person a unreality of suspicion hanging implicit them."

He added: "If nationalist disclosure surrounding onshore holdings and the exertion and support process is lacking, Islanders volition ne'er cognize if enforcement is needed, oregon has been needed."