Canadian Immigration Committee passes motion to study MPF access for Hong Kongers in Canada


The Canadian Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration has passed a motion to study pension transferability and access to the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) for Hong Kongers now residing in Canada.

The motion asks the Committee to invite representatives of Manulife Financial and SunLife Canada, Canadian trustees of the MPF, to appear as witnesses.

This follows a roundtable discussion held by Hong Kong Watch in Ottawa with MPs on the topic last November, during which Greg McLean MP took the initiative to draft a motion for a hearing at one of the committees, further highlighting the importance and urgency of addressing the MPF issue.

Hong Kong Watch previously published a briefing on MPF access for Hong Kongers, finding that Manulife and SunLife are withholding access to over CAD$1.5 billion worth of hard-earned pension funds. Subsequent Hong Kong Watch research found that Manulife and SunLife have rejected over 90 percent of Hong Kongers in Canada who have tried to withdraw their MPF savings. The briefings can be accessed here and here.

Tom Kmiec MP, Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, said in a video on social media: “These companies are allowing themselves to be used by obeying local laws in Hong Kong and stopping the transfer of pension funds by Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents to Canada.”

We thank all members of the Committee for agreeing to study this important matter that impacts up to thousands of Hong Kongers, including those in Canada. The full list of members are as follows (in alphabetical order):

Shafqat Ali

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe

Paul Chiang

Sukh Dhaliwal

Fayçal El-Khoury

Arielle Kayabaga

Tom Kmiec

Jenny Kwan

Larry Maguire

Greg McLean

Brad Redekopp

Salma Zahid