OTTAWA: As Canada stands at a critical juncture in its democratic history, the threat posed by foreign influences, notably the CCP, requires our immediate attention and decisive action.
In my column last week, I highlighted how a Canadian Diaspora Group coalition led by Gloria Fung and Marcus Kolga may have pressured the government to introduce a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry (FITR) immediately. Their concerted efforts appeared to have paid off with the introduction of legislation the Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, from the ruling Liberal Party on Monday. The newly tabled Bill C-70, An Act Respecting Countering Foreign Interference, promises to address these pressing concerns.
Bill C-70 as “An Act Respecting Countering Foreign Interference” strikes an oxymoronic chord. While the title suggests a comprehensive approach to countering foreign interference, the details fall a bit short, which is highlighted by other experts this past week.
As Canada stands at a critical juncture in its democratic history, the threat posed by foreign influences, notably the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), requires our immediate attention and decisive action. In reading Jonathan Manthorpe’s recent column (author of Claws of the Panda), it is evident that the CCP’s long-standing campaign to influence our political, academic, and business sectors dates back decades. Manthorpe’s column highlights why Canada has been easy pickings for the CCP and why the registry while late is better than sitting idly by. “For 75 years, Canadians have been the champion guinea pigs as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has selected and tested instruments of influence and coercion for its campaigns of international political warfare.” I need not remind Indian readers how deep and insidious these efforts run to undermine all democracies.
In political columnist Tasha Kheiriddin’s National Post column this week, she further underscored the urgency of addressing these challenges within our legislative framework. Her critique of Bill C-70 highlights significant gaps, particularly its failure to secure the integrity of party nominations and electoral processes against non-citizen interference, a critical aspect in safeguarding our national sovereignty. It’s s a significant first step, but she goes on to suggest, “It would have been easy for C-70 to amend the Elections Act to require that anyone participating in the electoral process in any form, including party nominations, must be a Canadian citizen, full stop,” and this seems obvious to all but the government.
The Foreign Influence Transparency Registry (FITR) in Canada as constituted is not nearly enough given what the government of Canada now knows about malign state actors wishing to undermine our elections and democracy itself. The act has taken some further cues from the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and the recent 2018 Australian Act enacted to combat the egregious interference by China in their democracy, for which one must applaud the government.
However, opposition parties are demanding more and a seat at the table to strengthen it. Bravo democracy at work unified around our national security. There is hope for us yet in Canada.
Let’s highlight a couple of key points. The act does not fully encompass the necessary measures to cleanse our political and electoral processes of pervasive foreign influence, which will continue to operate through overt and covert channels. As part of strengthening our democracy, many intelligence and policy experts demanded the FITR go beyond the limited scope of traditional legislative measures and aim to enhance the capabilities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service(CSIS), realigning the RCMP’s mandate to focus on National Security and robustly addressing Transnational Repression against Canadians by all foreign state actors, whether communist or other democracies. Leblanc announced such measures when he rose in the house to introduce this legislation, which recognizes the long overdue reviews of our intelligence and policing acts that will now commence. These are very positive signs that the Liberal government is finally taking the threat very seriously.
In our geopolitical rivalry with Communist China and as noted by Manthorpe, the CCP has adeptly manipulated our cultural and political naivety to its advantage. Similarly, Kheiriddin’s analysis points to an urgent need for legislative reform that can effectively address and mitigate the risks posed by foreign interference well beyond the scope of current measures.
Canadian politicians must open their eyes and understand we are not a favourite of Beijing because of our wide spaces and beautiful vistas but rather because of our naivety and proximity to the United States, where we became the soft underbelly for the ‘Hybrid War’ being waged against America by the CCP.
As introduced, FITR serves as a defensive mechanism and a proactive tool, now empowering lawmakers and intelligence agencies to protect Canadians from undeclared foreign influence on our soil. It would ensure that all actors, regardless of origin, are held to a standard that protects the integrity of our democratic processes. This includes all agents acting for any government or state-affiliated commercial entity; in the case of the CCP that is pretty much every corporation. I must emphasize that this act is not about targeting specific Asian-descended communities, as Canadian Senator Yuen Pao Woo alleged in calling for no act. It is not racist. Rather it is about protecting all Canadians from covert foreign agendas that seek to undermine our collective decision-making and national interests.
The FITR should send a strong message to China, Iran and Russia that Canada is finally committing to maintaining the sovereignty of its political processes and is prepared to take bold steps to defend its democratic institutions. As for our strained relationship with our Five Eyes counterparts this action by the Liberal government might even suggest that Canada is attempting to be considered as a serious player given its proclivity towards Beijing adjacent policies and a wrath of politicians through their deeds and actions seemed to have become switch hitters aligned with the Laurentian Elite’s corporate interests which promoted unbridled investment in a brutal and genocidal regime. A regime that I might add has incarcerated over 2-million plus Uyghurs who were sent to concentration camps over the past decade as just policy for re-education and economic progress in East Turkestan (Jinjiang). The regimes use of these people as slave labour is now well documented. The many who resisted are now dead because of these so-called progressive cultural assimilation policies.
The call to action was clear to all in the diaspora groups and those that advocated for protection of national interests. Canadians must now rally as a nation to support our elected officials to collaborate and pass the Foreign Influence Transparency Registry by the end to 2024 so we are prepared for the 2025 general elections.
By doing so, we reinforce the resilience of our democratic institutions and ensure that our national policies and political landscape reflect the true will and interests of all Canadian peoples. The CCP and other malign states have had a free ride in Canada for decades, but Canadians are finally truly waking up to the Tiger already inside its country.
Dean Baxendale is a publisher, writer and human rights advocate. He is the CEO of Optimum Publishing and the China Democracy Fund and a contributor to The Sunday Guardian.