(Ottawa) Faced with the slowness of the Trudeau government in creating a register of foreign agents of influence, the Bloc Québécois intends to table a bill shortly to create this tool requested by numerous organizations for several months to better counter interference foreign to the country.
Bloc MP René Villemure promises that this bill will have teeth: it will not only require foreign agents of influence to declare their activities in a register, but it will also require it from the Canadian side, regardless of whether the person is a deputy or senator, civil servant or professor in an educational establishment.
The obligation imposed on the Canadian side will ensure better traceability of the activities of foreign agents of influence in Canadian territory, said Monday Mr. Villemure, an ethics expert, in an interview with The Press.
The Bloc Québécois’ bill could obtain the support of a majority of MPs in the House of Commons, where Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are in the minority. In the spring, the Conservative Party passed a motion demanding the holding of a public inquiry into foreign interference and the creation of a register of foreign agents of influence which was adopted thanks to the support of the Bloc Québécois, of the NDP and members of the Green Party.
Additionally, the Conservative Party attempted to pass a bill to create a registry before the 2021 federal election. The bill died on the order paper following the election call.
The Trudeau government has been saying for several months that the creation of such a register is a priority and that a bill to create it would be tabled this fall. But the government House leader, Minister Karina Gould, barely mentioned this issue when she explained the government’s priorities during the fall parliamentary session.
Result: the Bloc Québécois considers that the slowness of the Trudeau government is unacceptable and therefore intends to table its own bill.
“The creation of a registry is a promise from the Liberals. But this has not yet been done. The government is not moving. In the Bloc, we are going to move. This will be done over the next few days,” confirmed Mr. Villemure.
Several of Canada’s allies, such as the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, have adopted a register in order to counter foreign interference. But the bill proposed by the Bloc Québécois stands out by imposing an obligation on the Canadian side to lift the veil on meetings with foreign agents of influence.
In our bill, both parties must declare the meetings. So, the register, rather than having a simple registration, will also allow verifications to be carried out. It’s different from what’s done elsewhere. This will make it possible to track what is happening in this area in Canada.
Bloc MP René Villemure
“We know that foreign interference is something that is very real. It’s quite subtle and very present. If we don’t take clear action, we will lose the game. By requiring both parties to register, we have a way of knowing what is happening, even if a foreign agent fails to register. This is an important new feature. »
Mr. Villemure clarified that severe sanctions would be imposed on anyone seeking to circumvent the register. This portion of the bill is currently being prepared.
“Interference is a serious matter. The penalty can’t just be that we are deprived of dessert. That will have to be determined, because we are not at that stage. But my wish is that the foreign agent who does not respect the obligations of the register would be expelled. We need to have something dissuasive,” he said.
Mr. Villemure confirmed his intentions on the eve of the publication, Tuesday, of the report of the standing committee on access to information, protection of personal information and ethics on foreign interference, particularly from China . The committee devoted several meetings to examining this issue in order to assess the threats it represents to the integrity of democratic institutions, intellectual property and the Canadian state.
Everything indicates the creation of a register of foreign agents of influence will be part of the committee’s recommendations.