A group of 33 multicultural organizations in Canada have come together to urge the government to implement a registry for foreign influence as a means of combating interference, particularly from China. The organizations, represented in a webinar event, called for the government to pass a foreign influence registration act in the House of Commons without delay. Such a registry would mandate that foreign states disclose their efforts to promote their own interests within Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in recent months that an independent special rapporteur will be appointed to investigate foreign interference in Canadian elections, but Gloria Fung, president of the Canada-Hong Kong Link, noted in the webinar that this investigation should not delay the implementation of a foreign agent registry. Several reports have alleged China has interfered with past Canadian elections. The coalition supported Senator Leo Hosakos’s Bill S-237 in the Senate to establish a foreign influence registry, but the bill has remained stagnant for more than a year.
33 groups demand foreign agent registry as China allegedly intervenes.
