MPs Push Minister Anand for Foreign Agent Registry Timeline, Say Interference a Major Concern

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told a parliamentary committee this week the foreign agent registry is expected to be operational by year’s end, as a Tory MP cautioned that Canada will risk being viewed as a “playground for foreign interference” if delays continue.

Anand told the Foreign Affairs and International Development committee that Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree had assured her the Foreign Influence Transparency Registry would be operational before the end of the year. Opposition MPs voiced their skepticism about its finalization, however, noting that the necessary consultations to create the registry remain incomplete with only a few weeks left in the parliamentary session.

“We have been clear that Canada’s sovereignty must be respected, and our government is vigilant in its efforts to combat the scourge of transnational repression,” Anand said during her testimony in Ottawa on Nov. 27. “We know that these threats are constantly evolving, and that’s why I am working closely with the minister of public safety.”

The Foreign Influence Transparency Registry would require anyone working for a foreign state to be on the public register if they are undertaking any lobbying or influence efforts in Canada.

Tory MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman criticized the delays in implementing the registry, noting that the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act already received royal assent in June 2024.

“We’re running out of time,” Kramp-Neuman said. “We now have less than two, three weeks left in the session, and we keep saying it’s going to be by the end of the year. Prior to that, there still needs to be consultations with the leader of the Opposition, leaders of the Senate, leaders of all parties.”

A foreign agent registry was one of several measures brought forward in June 2024 when Parliament passed Bill C-70, “An Act respecting countering foreign interference.” The legislation was passed amid heightened public awareness about China’s meddling in Canada’s affairs via intelligence leaks in the media. A public inquiry later formed to examine the issue of foreign interference said in January that China is the most active foreign power meddling in Canada’s affairs.

Kramp-Neuman said the delays in setting up the registry are making Canada unsafe.

“Lately, it seems as though Canada has become a playground for foreign interference,” Kramp-Neuman said, in response to assurances from Anand that she’s been told by Anandasangaree the registry will be in place by year’s end.

“We have weak laws, we have lack of transparency, and in fact, this government has actually acknowledged that People’s Republic of China poses a real threat to Canadian democracy,” she added.

Kramp-Neuman’s concerns were echoed by China expert Charles Burton who told MPs on the House of Commons procedure and house affairs committee this week that the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) has not been dealing effectively with Chinese spies.

“We’re not expelling people that I believe CSIS knows are espionage agents,” Burton said, adding, “Canada’s open territory for this kind of thing.”

Anand told a parliamentary committee on Nov. 27 that the government “will never tolerate any form of foreign interference or meddling in our democracy.”

She said all diplomats in Canada must respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that diplomats can’t interfere in the internal affairs of host countries.

The Canadian Press and Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.