Monks, money and the fierce debate over PEI’s scarce land
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: openstreetmap
The group, fuelled by tens of millions of dollars in international donations and led by a globe-trotting Chinese-Canadian woman known to adherents as Master Zhen-Ru, is linked to hundreds of land transactions in eastern PEI – an acquisition spree that has led to calls for a public inquiry. Islanders complain that the Bliss and Wisdom-linked land purchases exploit loopholes in the legislation by dividing up transactions through a network of companies and individual followers. Bliss and Wisdom says its land purchases on PEI, which the organization considers a central part of its global expansion, are perfectly legitimate.
If that 17,000-acre figure is accurate, the group and its followers control about 4 per cent of all the land in Kings County, which makes up around a quarter of PEI. But Bliss and Wisdom isn’t just a religious following. It’s also a big business, with jewellery, electronics, organic farming, translation and export divisions intertwined with an ever-growing network of followers’ numbered companies, affiliated foundations, shell corporations and donors’ financial gifts. An analysis of its business holdings in Asia shows a complex web of corporate entities, run by a small group of senior members, of which the Buddhist schools are only one part.
A tractor rests in the fields near Heatherdale. In the 2000s, many farmers in Kings County welcomed the initial land deals, whose proceeds could help them transition into retirement. Part of what drew Bliss and Wisdom to PEI – a “land of ice and snow,” as it was described on the group’s website to followers back in Taiwan – was a federal immigration program called the Provincial Nominee Program, which allowed affluent newcomers to fast-track their way to Canadian residency. That program, since overhauled by Ottawa because of concerns over abuse, brought millions in new revenue into the province.
Bliss and Wisdom has said that uncertainty around her ability to enter Taiwan is part of the reason resources are being directed away from there and toward PEI.Bliss and Wisdom's leader is Zhen-Ru, in the black coat fourth from right. Beside her, in the grey coat, is Ke-Zhou Lu, CEO of its non-charitable corporate divisions.
A nun named Venerable Gan Jing, for example, is a director of the Compassion and Grace Institute, another Buddhist school. Since arriving on PEI, she has acquired one of the larger pieces of commercial property in Three Rivers, the main building at the old Holland College campus. All of the tenants in the building are affiliated with Bliss and Wisdom: a Buddhist educational charity, a consulting firm and a hostel for international students.
Although in many cases it is not possible to trace the origins of the money used for land purchases by Bliss and Wisdom followers, one person in a position to observe the flows of funds during the group’s early days on PEI was Jian Qinghua, who was among the first wave of arrivals and lived on the island from 2008 to 2012.
A former chief of staff at Bliss and Wisdom, Li Yan Zhong, also told The Globe he quit in 2005 because he was growing frustrated with what he believed was mismanagement of followers’ money. because it was suggested as preferable by the PEI sellers and their realtors. He said language barriers prevented them from understanding that large cash transactions must be reported to federal authorities.
In an e-mail to a PEI lawyer in 2016, Yvonne Tsai, a former director of finance for GWBI, said Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was questioning her about nearly $1.15-million in deposits into her personal account in the span of 13 days in 2015. Other e-mails from senior nuns suggest the organization co-ordinated the purchase of land on behalf of its followers. In separate messages, Ms. Tsai confirmed she paid the property tax for another nun, and another senior nun directed an employee on which names and addresses to use to file a land purchase with the province.
At the centre of Bliss and Wisdom’s move into PEI is its spiritual leader, Ms. Zhen-Ru, who led the arrival in the province in 2008. She is a Chinese-born layperson who managed to rise to the top of the religious order, where senior roles have typically been reserved only for those with years of monastic training.
Mr. Lu, meanwhile, is deeply involved in the business side of things. Among the ventures he has brought to PEI is an enterprise focused on exporting PEI-grown organic soybeans, Leezen Company. “The monastery does not need expensive cars for transportation, but if one is offered to us with a good intent, we would not discard it either,” he said.
Bliss and Wisdom dissidents also cite Ms. Zhen-Ru’s connection with Harwa Rinpoche, a monk appointed by the Chinese government to run a religious school in China. Mr. Rinpoche was Ms. Zhen-Ru’s mentor and the person who introduced her to Bliss and Wisdom. He continues to support her, including by collaborating with her on writing books, according to the organization’s website.
“Like many spiritual leaders, what Teacher Zhen-Ru cares most about is not taking sides on political issues, which can hardly bring peace and happiness when such a stand is used to create division,” he said. Shane MacDonald, a local contractor who spoke in opposition to the land transactions, said Bliss and Wisdom’s leaders haven’t been honest about their plans for PEI. He accused the province of dismissing residents’ concerns.
Mr. Chang admitted that “ill-advised mistakes did happen” with some properties, but insisted the organization is trying to be more sensitive to islanders’ concerns about land. In the case of the 15 monks who bought a farm together, he said, they were “misled” by a local realtor, and later subdivided the land, resold a portion to a farmer and rented out a house.
PEI Premier Dennis King has said in media statements that he is looking into issues of land ownership on the island, and insists his government is rejecting applications to turn farmland over to developers. Anne Van Donkersgoed, a Three Rivers town councillor, said the municipality’s hands are tied when it comes to concerns about land issues connected to Bliss and Wisdom. IRAC, the land regulator, is frequently overruled by the province, which, under the Lands Protection Act, has the power to exempt buyers from the regulations.
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