Estimated 2,500 undeclared foreign agents operate in Canada: Ottawa

OTTAWA — The federal government estimates there are nearly 2,500 businesses or people in Canada working surreptitiously on behalf of foreign states to influence local politics and governments who will need to register publicly.

That’s according to proposed regulations for Canada’s long-awaited foreign agent registry published on Saturday.  

But despite suggestions by Ottawa that the tool would be up and running by last year, the Liberals have yet to appoint a Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner to oversee the registry.  

The proposed regulations flesh out the information businesses and individuals in Canada will have to provide the eventual commissioner when they do work behalf of a foreign government to influence Canadian politics and governments.  

They also propose penalties ranging from $50 to $1,000,000 to foreign agents who fail to abide by registration rules once the registry is stood up.  

Notably, the federal government also reveals how many businesses and individuals it estimates will have to register their secret influence activities on behalf of foreign states.  

According to the document, the government estimates that 1,550 businesses and 872 individuals will need to declare their foreign influence activities targeting Canada once the registry is up and running.  

The estimation is based on Australia’s experience with a similar foreign agent registry set up in 2018 .  

“Unlike some of its allies, Canada lacks a transparent mechanism to ensure the public is informed about attempts by foreign entities to influence Canadian political and governmental processes. As a result, foreign principals and their proxies can secretly seek to shape Canadian decisions and public opinion,” reads the document.  

For Dennis Molinaro, a former intelligence analyst, the number shows that the transparency registry is far overdue. But he also warned against setting up the registry without ensuring the commissioner has enough teeth to be able to enforce it.  

“If that’s accurate, it means a scale of influence that’s already significant. A registry of that size only matters if it leads to enforcement, and it raises real capacity concerns,” said Molinaro, author of “Under Assault: Interference and Espionage in China’s Secret War Against Canada”.  

“I worry about managed compliance rather than deterrence of a counter-intelligence threat,” he added.  

Canada lags behind many allies such as the U.S., U.K., France and Australia when it comes to setting up a transparency registry for foreign agents.  

Countries all over the world, many of which are not considered hostile, conduct foreign influence efforts in Canada. Most of those activities are not illegal either.  

But the issue is when countries seek to secretly influence Canadians and democratic institutions using illegitimate means such as misinformation or disinformation.  

“Some activities by foreign entities are carried out secretly or in a non-transparent manner, often using proxies and tactics such as spreading misinformation,” reads the consultation document.  

“Non-transparent foreign influence activities that aim to affect political and governmental processes for the undisclosed benefit of a foreign power undermines Canada’s sovereignty and democracy.”  

The proposed regulations come over one and a half years after Parliament passed the bill promising the public registry of agents working on behalf of a foreign government which still has not come to be.  

They will only be finalized after a 30-day consultation period that began at publication on Jan. 3.  

But the registry won’t be fully set up until Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government appoints the new Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner. Many national security observers are surprised at how long it has taken.  

Multiple government sources told National Post that a candidate has been chosen but is still going through various approval stages. That will eventually include consultations with opposition parties, which have not happened yet.  

None of the sources knew the identity of the chosen candidate. The sources were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the appointment process publicly.  

Once announced, the commissioner will be responsible for standing up their office, hiring staff and implementing a secure IT solution for the public registry.  

According to the proposed regulations, the commissioner will be paid between $225,300 and $265,000.  

Information in the registry could remain in the commissioner’s possession for up to 20 years if the regulations are adopted as proposed.  

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s spokesperson  Simon Lafortune said the registry can only be launched officially once the commissioner is appointed, the regulations are finalized, and the government has procured the secure IT solution.  

National Post

cnardi@postmedia.com 

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