A new petition calling for the swift creation of a foreign agent registry has been brought before the House of Commons. The petition also raises concerns about reported efforts within certain communities to link the proposed registry with Canada’s long-abolished Chinese Exclusion Act.
Petition
e-4534, initiated by Toronto resident Winnie Ng, notes that the proposed foreign registry legislation only applies to those seeking to lobby on behalf of a foreign government in Canada, unlike the Chinese Exclusion Act. The act, officially the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act, was discriminatory, resulting in the prohibition of Chinese immigrants to Canada for over 20 years.
“Anti-Chinese racism cannot be used as a shield to distract from and to minimize the urgent actions required to preserve our Canadian democracy,” the petition says.
The petition urges Canada to join allies such as the United States and Australia, which have already installed similar legal tools to combat foreign interference.
“Setting up a comprehensive system of our own Foreign Influence Transparency Registry is one of the most effective ways to safeguard our Canadian democratic system and uphold the universal core values of freedom, democracy, and justice,” it says.
This petition, which began on Aug. 16 and is open for signatures until Oct. 15, has so far gathered over 400 signatures.
Foreign Interferences
The petition was sponsored in the House of Commons by NDP MP Jenny Kwan. Ms. Kwan
recently revealed that she has been an “evergreen” target of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) foreign interference over her outspoken criticism of the regime, citing briefings from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
CSIS has also
recently briefed Conservative MP Michael Chong, whose family members in Hong Kong had been threatened by the Chinese regime in 2021. Mr. Chong was reportedly targeted for introducing a House of Commons motion to recognize Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghur minorities as genocide, as first reported by The Global and Mail in May.
Media reports over the past year have disclosed various foreign interference operations by the CCP, including its operation of
a number of secret police stations on Canadian soil, meddling in two recent federal elections, and deployment of spy balloons over North American airspace and surveillance buoys in Arctic waters.
Opposition
Despite these revelations, a separate petition,
e-4395, was sponsored in April to oppose the proposed legislative efforts to create a foreign agent registry in Canada. That petition, sponsored in the House of Commons by Liberal MP Arya Chandra, claimed a foreign registry would “poses a serious harassment and stigmatization risk for racialized communities.”
Sen. Yuan Pau Woo, who has
confirmed his role in drafting petition e-4395, led a demonstration on Parliament Hill along with Sen. Victor Oh. The demonstration was advertised to mark the 100th anniversary of Canada’s introduction of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Prior to the demonstration, the two senators had
attended a series of public forums where they urged Chinese communities across the country to unite in opposing the creation of a foreign agent registry.
Mr. Woo has been vocal against attempts to establish a foreign agent registry, speaking out against it in the Senate and on social media. In a
social media post dated March 10, he wrote that “100 years ago, as part of the [Chinese Exclusion Act], Canada forced all Chinese people in the country to register or face deportation. How can we prevent this registry from becoming a modern form of Chinese exclusion? ... Time to speak out.”
In the Ms. Ng’s petition, petitioners said they are “deeply concerned” about the efforts to use the centenary anniversary of the Chinese Immigration Act 1923 to undermine the Canadian government’s commitment to proceed with the foreign registry.
“Canada simply cannot afford to play politics with our national security or our democratic process,” the petition says.
