Ruby Sahota, Member of Parliament for Brampton North, stood alongside the Minister of Public Safety , Dominic LeBlanc on Tuesday to announce new measures to strengthen Canadian institutions and protect against foreign interference.
Bill C 70, An Act respecting countering foreign interference seeks to enhance the government’s ability to detect, disrupt, and protect people in Canada against the threats posed by foreign interference. The Bill includes:
Changes to the Security of Information Act; The modernization of the 40-year-old Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act; the modernization of certain Criminal Code offences; and amending the Canada Evidence Act to introduce a standardized regime to protect and use sensitive information in administrative proceedings in the Federal Court of Canada.
Bill C 70 also introduces the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act (FITAA), which would enable the creation of a Foreign Influence
Transparency Registry . Under the 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.
The government is committed to protecting Canada and the Canadian public from the threat of foreign interference, and to enhancing whole of society resilience against malign foreign influence through transparency mechanisms like the FITAA. Together, we can protect Canadian values, principles, rights and freedoms from those who seek to harm them.
While Brampton North MP Ruby Sahota s aid, “ Foreign interference is one of the most serious threats facing Canadians and Canadian institutions. Unlike when the Conservatives were in power, we have stepped up to meet this challenge by investing in our national security agencies to detect and disrupt threats; and by creating new bodies that help defend our elections. We’re taking action to protect our institutions and the innocent Canadians who are being targeted by foreign actors.”
The bill would make it a serious offence under the Security of Information Act, carrying a potential life sentence, for individuals to engage in covert or deceptive actions, at the behest of a foreign entity.
