EDITORIAL: Is Canada serious about foreign interference?

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Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday he expects the U.S. and other countries not to interfere with Alberta's referendum vote on Monday.

This comes in the wake of reports that Alberta separatists met with U.S. State Department officials and Republican strategists.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said American officials are closely watching for Canadian interference in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, which Carney denied.

Given all this, we trust Carney, in addition to the U.S., meant countries such as China, Russia, India and Iran that were identified as interfering in Canadian democracy in the final report of Canada's foreign interference inquiry last year.

One of the tools to combat foreign interference — a public registry of foreign lobbyists — finally became operational in August under the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act.

That was more than five years after the Liberal government of then prime minister Justin Trudeau said it was "actively considering" creating a registry in February 2021, suggesting a profound lack of urgency in creating one.

Carney's government said the registry will provide Canadians "with greater transparency regarding foreign influence activities."

To be sure, it's not a panacea for all forms of foreign interference.

Beyond election interference, that includes transnational repression, industrial espionage, intellectual property theft and attempts to influence politicians and bureaucrats at all levels of government using everything from bribery to threats.

But the registry is one guard rail against foreign interference if it is effectively administered.

Unfortunately, that may not be the case.

In preparation for the registry, the Liberal government estimated 2,422 individuals, businesses, non-profits, consultants, and law firms would be required to register under the legislation, in order to lobby federal, provincial and municipal governments with the aim of influencing decision-making.

Under the legislation, violators are subject to fines of up to $1 million.

Despite that, by the time of an Oct. 3 deadline to register existing activities aimed at lobbying Canadian governments, only a handful of agencies had registered or were in the process of applying.

Given the time it took for the Liberals to agree to establishing a foreign lobbyists registry and its unimpressive launch, Canadians should be concerned with how effective it will be, and about foreign interference in general.

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