Loopholes in Lobbying, Ethics Rules Facilitate Foreign Interference, MPs Hear

Democracy Watch says some rules supported by MPs are making it easier for interference to occur

A Canadian flag hangs from a lamp post along the road in front of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa on June 30, 2020. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Canadian MPs have made formal decisions regarding ethics and lobbying rules that make it easier for foreign interference to occur, an advocacy group told MPs at a parliamentary committee.

Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch testified at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs on May 9, as part of its study on foreign interference.

The implementation of a foreign agent registry to curb the issue is currently being looked at by the federal government, but Conacher raised doubts about its eventual effectiveness and noted other areas that need an overhaul.

“Simply putting in place a foreign agent registry, especially if it’s loophole filled, will not do much to stop foreign interference,” said Conacher, who heads the non-profit organization dedicated to democratic reform and government accountability.

“Loopholes in election donation and spending, lobbying, and ethics rules currently make secret foreign interference relatively easy, as does the very weak and cabinet appointed watchdogs who have very weak enforcement powers and also very weak attitudes generally, and practices in terms of enforcement.”

Conacher said the foreign influence registry must require anyone to sign up whether they’re being compensated directly or indirectly by a foreign government.

“If the registry only requires people or entities paid to directly influence Canadian politics, then they will easily be able to avoid being required to register by arranging to be compensated for other services or in some other way while doing the influence activities for free,” he said.

The government has announced consultations on an eventual registry amid pressure created by multiple national security leaks in the press suggesting widespread interference by the Chinese regime.

While acknowledging this future project to help curb nefarious activities by foreign agents, Conacher pointed to what he called loopholes backed by MPs that can be exploited by foreign interference actors.

He pointed to proposed changes to the lobbying code, which he said will “gut key ethical lobbying rules.”

Review of Lobbying Rules

MPs on the House of Commons ethics committee have reviewed, earlier this year, proposed changes to lobbying rules brought by the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.

Chair of the committee, Conservative MP John Brassard, wrote to the Commissioner of Lobbying Nancy Bélanger in March on various issues regarding her proposed changes to the code.

He said members approved, with the exception of the NDP committee member, the commissioner’s recommendation to reduce the length of the cooling-off period which prevents someone who contributed to a political campaign to lobby the elected officials shortly afterward.

Bélanger seeks to better define and reduce the current period of an election cycle, typically four years, to two years or even one in some circumstances.

“During consultation, several stakeholders submitted concerns that keeping a rule related to political engagement in the Code could infringe a lobbyist’s Charter rights related to participating in the democratic process,” she wrote in the updated code submitted for committee review.

Brassard told The Epoch Times he expects the commissioner to address the committee’s comments and recommendations before it’s officially updated. He did not comment on Conacher’s remarks before committee.

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying didn’t return a request for comment by publication time.

Conacher also criticized the work of the committee before which he testified with regard to changes it recommended to the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House Commons.

In its report to the House on its review of the code, in June 2022, the committee recommended that the work of interns in members’ offices be not counted as a benefit. The House approved the review on March 30.

Conacher says this “allows lobby groups including, foreign-sponsored lobby groups, to pay secretly for interns in your office.”

“So essentially, you have made it legal now for foreign-sponsored groups to plant spies in MPs’ offices and pay for them in secret with no disclosure.”