Parliamentary Committee Notes: Opening Remarks
Speaking Notes for The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs
Appearance Before the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs
June 12, 2024
Honourable Senators, I appreciate this opportunity to speak to Bill C-70 during your pre-study of this important legislation.
Today, foreign interference poses one of the greatest threats to our Canadian society, our economic prosperity, and our sovereignty.
By giving our law enforcement and intelligence agencies enhanced tools and authorities, the Countering Foreign Interference Act will strengthen our ability to detect and disrupt foreign interference threats to our national security, while upholding Canadian interests, values and the need for transparency.
Honourable Senators, it first bears noting today that all of these proposed changes incorporate the views of Canadians that the Government heard during consultations.
One of the main pillars of this bill and its commitment to transparency is the creation of a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry.
In the Spring of 2023, the Government held public consultations to guide the creation of a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry.
The Government also conducted further public consultations on potential legislative amendments to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, the Criminal Code, the Security of Information Act and the Canada Evidence Act.
A Foreign Influence Transparency Registry will require that all individuals or entities who enter into an arrangement with a foreign principal – and who undertake activities to influence a government or political process in Canada–publicly register these activities.
The goal of a foreign registry would be to promote transparency from all people who advocate on behalf of foreign governments or entities, as well as to ensure accountability from those who would seek to do so in clandestine ways.
A registry is by no means a single solution to foreign interference, however, foreign interference is a complex national security threat that requires a multi-pronged approach.
Canadians have been very clear about what they need to feel better protected from foreign interference threats.
In addition to a foreign registry, they have said they need information that will help them understand and address this threat.
The government wants Canadians to be resilient to foreign interference, and to national security threats more generally.
Targeted amendments to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act would better equip the Government and other Canadian institutions and entities to build resilience and to counter the modern threats Canada faces today.
Among other changes, Bill C-70 would increase the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s (CSIS) ability to be more agile and effective in its investigations, by introducing new authorities for specific collection techniques.
It would also enable a broader disclosure of information to key partners outside of the Government of Canada. With appropriate safeguards, this information would help Canadians to build resiliency to threats.
This Bill also introduces several new measures to assist CSIS in its investigation of foreign interference. These will close gaps in CSIS’ authorities that have become more acute with the global shift towards digital communication and technology.
For example, it introduces preservation and production orders. These will, respectively, allow CSIS to request orders from the Federal Court to compel a third party to preserve or produce information that may be valuable to a CSIS investigation.
This process would help CSIS to more effectively identify and investigate foreign interference threat actors and activities and, if necessary, to take action to disrupt those threats.
Honourable Senators, it’s important to underscore that all of these amendments would continue to respect Canadian fundamental rights and freedoms. Strong review, oversight and transparency measures are still in place and unchanged.
All of these proposals have been developed considering the high expectation of privacy that people in Canada have, including the protections provided by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
I want to reassure the Committee today that the Government is using every possible tool at our disposal to keep them safe.
Our security and intelligence agencies have been doing the hard work of detecting and countering threats, and I have every confidence that they will continue to do so.
Foreign interference is never acceptable and Canada must never tolerate intimidation, harassment, or dis-and mis-information by foreign actors in our country.
We will continue our work with all our partners, including other jurisdictions in Canada, affected communities, academia and civil society to counter this threat.
With the passage of Bill C-70, we will face the threat of foreign interference head on to protect all that we hold dear.
Thank you very much.
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