The federal government unveiled a long-anticipated bill Monday aimed at curbing foreign interference in Canadian political life — from school boards to the House of Commons.
If passed, the bill would introduce a new foreign interference offence, shake up how Canada’s spy agency collects and shares intelligence and launch a long-anticipated foreign influence transparency registry.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc tabled Bill C-70 just days after a public inquiry said attempts by other countries to meddle in Canada’s past two federal elections undermined Canadians’ trust in democracy.
The bill would make it an indictable offence — punishable by up to life in prison — for anyone to, at the direction of a foreign entity, engage in “surreptitious or deceptive conduct” to influence a political or governmental process, which includes party nomination contests.
Party nominations have been flagged as a source of concern by the ongoing public inquiry into foreign interference. In her first report, released Friday, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue (who is leading the inquiry) said she could not rule out the possibility that China interfered in the 2019 Liberal nomination contest for the riding of Don Valley North.
The bill also would make it an offence for a foreign entity or proxy to try to influence a school’s governance — which the legislation defines as anything from a school board up to universities and other higher learning institutions.
The act also proposes updating the Criminal Code to prevent sabotage attacks on critical infrastructure.
CSIS would be able to disclose more information
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has long called for new powers and the ability to share information with targets of foreign interference apart from the government, such as researchers, businesses and Indigenous communities.
Bill C-70 would allow CSIS to disclose sensitive information beyond the federal government in the interest of building up resiliency against foreign interference.
“A resilient and informed population is our best defence against foreign interference,” said LeBlanc.
That portion of the legislation received almost immediate praise from the Business Council of Canada.
“Despite CSIS possessing the knowledge and expertise to help Canadian companies withstand growing security threats, CSIS’ outdated legislation means that business leaders are left fending for themselves,” said council president Goldy Hyder.
“With new threat intelligence sharing authorities, CSIS could communicate more specific and tangible information with Canadian companies. This would give business leaders a clearer understanding of the growing threat, as well as the protective measures that could be taken to better safeguard their employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate.”
A core part of the bill would require those acting on behalf of foreign states to influence Canadian politics or government to register with the federal government. Such foreign agent registries are in place in the U.S. and Australia.
Those caught violating the rules of the proposed new foreign influence transparency registry could risk millions of dollars in financial penalties and prison time. Diplomats would be exempt.
Monday’s bill proposes appointing a foreign influence transparency commissioner in charge of overseeing a new registry system.
The bill arrives just days after the public inquiry investigating foreign meddling issued its first report, which found foreign interference “undermined the right of voters to have an electoral ecosystem free from coercion or covert influence.”
Hogue stressed that attempts at foreign interference did not affect which political party formed the government in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.
Hogue said none of the evidence she’s heard to date suggests officials acted in “bad faith” or that information was deliberately and improperly withheld.
“But it does suggest that on some occasions, information related to foreign interference did not reach its intended recipient, while on others the information was not properly understood by those who received it,” she wrote.
“These are serious issues that need to be investigated and considered.”
Source Agencies
