Foreign Interference Bill: CCLA Warns the Senate Committee about Charter Issues that Must Be Addressed

On June 10, 2024, Shakir Rahim, director of the Criminal Justice program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, director of the Fundamental Freedoms program and interim director of the Privacy, Technology and Surveillance program, made the following statement:

The Foreign Interference Bill (C-70) is a multifaceted bill which touches on complex legislation related to national security, as well as intelligence and criminal justice systems, in addition to introducing a foreign influence transparency registry. Unfortunately, the legislative study of this important bill is currently taking place in an extremely rushed fashion, despite the calls from several civil society organizations, including the CCLA, to allow for meaningful public consultations to take place. In the written submission on Bill C-70 we just shared with the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs, we reiterated our call to extend the time allocated to this crucial step.

While the CCLA acknowledges the importance of addressing any threat to Canada’s democracy, our review of this complex bill identifies several Charter issues that must be addressed before the bill passes into law. For instance, we are particularly concerned that the new proposed offence of sabotage (essential infrastructure) under Part 2 is overbroad and risks suppressing peaceful protest. If the provision remains part of C-70, in our submission we propose an amendment to strengthen protections for protest, advocacy, and dissent.

As for Part 4 of the bill, which purports to create the foreign influence transparency registry, it leaves crucial questions to future regulations, including which classes of persons and arrangements will fall outside of the Registry’s scope and which information will have to be disclosed in the registry. This approach – which does not comply with the principle of democratic accountability – coupled with the vague and broad language used to define key terms within the bill, give reason to fear that the registry could allow the government to monitor and surveil not only foreign influence specifically, but also the international engagement of various actors. For instance, it is possible that an individual who has been in contact with a foreign state-owned media or academic institution and who has then engaged with the public with respect to a Canadian political process would be required to provide detailed information to the registry as to the individual’s activities.

We will be appearing today before the Senate Committee on behalf of the CCLA. We look forward to this opportunity of discussing further our concerns with respect to this bill.

Our written submissions can be found here.

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About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.

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