Citizen Group Urges Revision of Proposed Foreign Interference Bill to Close Loopholes

June 11, 2024 TruthUSA

A citizen advocacy group has expressed fears regarding gaps in the government’s proposed foreign interference legislation, stating that it could lead to ongoing interference in Canadian politics.

Democracy Watch highlighted in a June 10 statement that Bill C-70 contains weaknesses that could permit foreign interference in party leadership contests. They mentioned that foreign agents may not be obligated to disclose covert communications with election candidates, party leadership contestants, elected MPs, or appointed Senators who have not yet assumed office.

The group also raised worries about the potential for a foreign agent to utilize a lobbyist as a “proxy” for their influence operations.

According to Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher, if the loopholes in the bill are not addressed, secretive, unethical, and undemocratic foreign interference in elections, party leadership races, parties, and government policy-making processes will remain legally permissible in Canada.

Bill C-70, presented on May 6, aims to establish a foreign agent registry in Canada and appoint an independent commissioner to oversee its workings. The bill also expands criminal offenses to combat foreign interference in Canada.

Democracy Watch argued that the discretionary powers granted to the federal cabinet under Bill C-70 are excessively broad. They claimed that these powers could exempt public officials from disclosure requirements in instances of communications with foreign agents, exclude certain foreign interference activities from prohibited actions, confine information in the foreign interference registry, and govern the timeline for implementing the bill.

Calls for Investigation

In their press release, Democracy Watch urged the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to disclose redacted information from the recently issued report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP). The report noted “alarming intelligence” suggesting the “witting” involvement of some parliamentarians in foreign interference in Canadian politics.

Bill C-70 would grant CSIS new abilities to share intelligence on foreign interference threats with non-federal entities, and Democracy Watch urged the agency to do so upon the law’s enactment. They also called on the RCMP, the Commissioner of Canada Elections, and the ethics commissioner to investigate instances of foreign interference involving MPs or senators.

The group emphasized that such violations should be addressed before the upcoming election to ensure accountability, echoing a similar plea from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to reveal the list of complicit parliamentarians.

The Conservatives expressed their intention to collaborate with the Liberal government to promptly pass Bill C-70. Tory MP Michael Chong, serving as his party’s foreign affairs critic, sent a letter to Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc on May 28, urging expedited passage of the bill prior to the next election.

Officials from the Department of Public Safety testified before a House committee last month that once Bill C-70 is passed, it will take an additional year for the foreign influence registry to become operational.

Following the release of the NSICOP report on June 3, the Privy Council Office issued a statement. While acknowledging the report, the government disagreed on certain aspects, particularly the interpretation of intelligence reports, noting the absence of “necessary caveats inherent to intelligence” and failure to fully recognize efforts to inform parliamentarians about the foreign interference threat.

Mr. Conacher remarked that additional reforms beyond the foreign agent registry are imperative to effectively combat foreign interference. He criticized recent alterations to lobbying and ethics laws for further deteriorating the regulatory framework and heightening susceptibility to foreign influence.

“These changes, combined with the existing loopholes in Canada’s election, political donation, spending, lobbying, and ethics laws, make it even simpler than before for foreign entities to clandestinely influence Canadian politics and policymakers, including through false claims on social media platforms,” he stated.

Noé Chartier and Tara MacIsaac contributed to this report

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