Foreign Interference Bill Unanimously Passes in House, Heads to Senate

The Peace Tower of Parliament Hill is pictured in Ottawa, on June 4, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

MPs voted unanimously on June 13 to pass a bill aimed at combating foreign interference by creating a foreign agent registry and introducing new interference-related offences.

Bill C-70 has now advanced to the Senate, where a pre-study of the bill is currently underway. The Senate completed first reading of the bill on the same day.

In addition to creating a foreign agent registry, the bill gives the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) the ability to share intelligence about threats to non-federal entities.

It also makes changes to the CSIS act to modernize the legislation for the digital age.

The bill adds criminal offences that make prosecution of cases of foreign interference targeting diaspora easier, and criminalizes inappropriate sharing of military technology and knowledge.

It also adds a new criminal offence meant to curb foreign interference in Canada’s political processes, including party nomination contests.

The legislation also makes it a criminal offence to sabotage essential infrastructure.

The Liberal government introduced the legislation on May 6 shortly after the ongoing Foreign Interference Commission released its interim report, saying that China has been most active in interfering in Canada. The commission’s May 3 report said that while foreign interference may not have impacted the overall results of the past two federal elections, it has undermined trust in the country’s democratic institutions.

The commission was formed after several high-profile intelligence leaks in media about China’s interference in Canadian elections and other parts of the society.

The issue has remained front and centre in the House of Commons as the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) said in a report earlier this month that some parliamentarians have been “witting” participants in foreign interference efforts.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who saw an unredacted copy of the report this week, said on June 13 that he was “more alarmed” after seeing the full report.

“I am more convinced than ever of the conclusions of the NSICOP committee and the report that some parliamentarians are, in the words of the intelligence services, ’semi-witting or witting' participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics,” Mr. Singh told reporters.

His reaction is in contrast to that of Green Party Co-Leader Elizabeth May, who said she had “no worries about anyone in the House of Commons” after reading the report this week.

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has asked the government to publicly release the name of the implicated parliamentarians. He has refused to get clearance to read the unredacted report, saying he does not want to be limited in what he can tell Canadians.

The Liberal government says it can’t release the names given confidentiality protocols when intelligence is involved.

MPs have voted to refer the findings of the NSICOP to the Foreign Interference Commission.

Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.