OTTAWA,
ON, May 6, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable
Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions
and Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Honourable Arif Virani,
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced the introduction Bill C-70,
An Act respecting countering foreign
interference.
Bill C-70 proposes to update existing laws to better equip the
government to detect, disrupt, and protect against foreign
interference threats against all people in Canada, including members of diaspora,
marginalized or otherwise vulnerable communities. This includes
proposed changes to the Security of Information Act, the
modernization of the 40-year-old Canadian Security Intelligence
Service Act, and the sabotage offence in the Criminal
Code. It also proposes amendments to the Canada Evidence
Act to establish a standardized and streamlined regime for
handling sensitive information in administrative proceedings in the
Federal Court of Canada.
The CSIS Act is old and predates the modern
internet. Amendments would address growing gaps caused by
evolving threats and technological advancements Safeguards have
been built in and are strong – the legislation was developed to
ensure that CSIS activities comply with the Charter of Rights
and Freedoms. Proposed warrant powers, while new to the
CSIS Act, are not new tools; they are modelled on powers
routinely relied on by Canadian law enforcement and intelligence
agencies in other democracies. The threshold for accessing these
tools is still high.
This bill also introduces the Foreign Influence Transparency
and Accountability Act (FITAA), which creates a Foreign
Influence Transparency Registry. Overseen by an independent Foreign
Influence Transparency Commissioner, the Registry would promote
transparency from people who advocate on behalf of a foreign
principal (including a foreign state or state-owned business) and
accountability from those who would do so in non-transparent
ways. Under this proposed framework, individuals or entities
who enter into an arrangement with a foreign principal and
undertake activities to influence a government or political process
in Canada would be required to
publicly register these activities.
This legislation has been informed by the input received during
the public consultations on foreign interference to ensure that it
aligns with our national values, captures a wide range of
expertise, perspectives, views and opinions, and respects Canadian
fundamental rights and freedoms, including those protected by the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Government of Canada is
committed to protecting Canada and
its residents from the threat of foreign interference, and to
enhancing our collective resilience against malign foreign
influence. This is an issue that impacts all aspects of society –
and the government will continue to work with all partners,
including provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous
governments and partners, affected communities, academia and civil
society, to collectively address foreign interference. This
legislation will better enable the Government to detect,
investigate, provide advice and get at the root source of foreign
interference by enabling stronger enforcement.
Together, we can better protect Canadian values, principles,
rights and freedoms from those who seek to harm them.
Quote
"Our government has been clear – we will not tolerate any form
of malign foreign influence on Canadian soil. An Act Respecting
Countering Foreign Interference will modernize our toolbox to
protect our citizens and democracy while upholding Canadian values
and principles."
- The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety,
Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs
"Our government is taking action to protect all people in
Canada, our institutions and our
democracy from foreign interference. These reforms to criminal and
national security laws are carefully crafted to tackle these
threats in an appropriate, balanced, and fair manner."
- The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney
General of Canada
Quick Facts
- Foreign interference includes harmful activities undertaken by
foreign states, or those acting on its behalf, that are
clandestine, deceptive, or involve a threat to any person to
advance the strategic objectives of those states to the detriment
of Canada's national interests.
Foreign interference poses a threat to all levels of government,
the private sector, academia, diaspora communities and the general
public.
- In 2019, the Government of Canada announced the Plan to Protect Canada's
Democracy. Measures introduced as part of the Plan include the
Critical Election Incident Public Protocol (CEIPP), the Security
and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force, the
Digital Citizen Initiative, the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism and the
Canada Declaration on Election Integrity Online. The Government is
committed to continuously improving its defenses, including
elements of the Plan, to ensure Canada remains best protected.
- On March 6, 2023, the Government
of Canada announced a series of
measures to take further action on foreign interference and
strengthen the public's confidence in our democracy.
- From March 10 to May 9, 2023, the
Government held public consultations to guide the creation of a
Foreign Influence Transparency Registry in Canada.
- On September 7, 2023, the
Government of Canada launched the
Foreign Interference Commission to respond to concerns about
foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. The
Commission is also examining the flow of information within the
federal government in relation to these issues, evaluating the
actions taken in response, assessing the federal government's
capacity to detect, deter, and counter foreign interference, and
will make recommendations on these issues. The Commission released
its initial report on May 3, 2024,
and will deliver its final report by December 31, 2024.
- From November 24, 2023 to
February 2, 2024, the Government of
Canada held additional public
consultations that focused on potential legislative amendments to
the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, the
Criminal Code, the Security of Information Act and
the Canada Evidence Act.
- Budget 2023 provides $48.9
million over three years starting in 2023-24 to the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police to protect people in Canada from harassment and intimidation,
increase its investigative capacity, and more proactively engage
with communities at greater risk of being targeted, as well as
$13.5 million over five years,
starting in 2023-24, and $3.1 million
ongoing to Public Safety Canada to establish a National
Counter-Foreign Interference Office.
Related Products
- Backgrounder: Foreign Interference in Canada
- Backgrounder: Canada's Foreign
Influence Transparency Registry
- Backgrounder: CSIS Act Amendments: Bolstering Canada's
counter-foreign interference legislation
- Backgrounder: Security of Information Act, Criminal
Code and Canada Evidence Act Amendments: Bolstering
Canada's counter-foreign interference legislation
- Consulting on Canada's
Foreign Influence Transparency Registry: What We Heard
Report
- What We Heard and Learned Report: CSIS Act
Consultations
- What we heard: Consultation on the proposed reforms to the
Security of Information Act, Criminal Code and
Canada Evidence Act
Associated Links
- Public Safety Canada's Foreign Interference web pages
- CSIS 2022 Public Report
- Government of Canada launches
consultation on legislative amendments to counter foreign
interference in Canada
- Government of Canada launches
public consultations on a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry
in Canada
- Taking further action on foreign interference and strengthening
confidence in our democracy
- Foreign Interference and You
- Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) Canada
- Cyber Threats to Canada's
Democratic Process: 2023 update
- Protecting Democracy
- Countering an evolving threat: Update on recommendations to
counter foreign interference in Canada's democratic institutions
SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada