Poilievre derides Liberals over foreign registry delays

Bill C-70 requires those lobbying public office holders under foreign influence to register, with penalties of up to five years imprisonment or a hefty $5 million fine.

 

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre questioned the delay in implementing a public registry of foreign agents, approved 10 months ago. The Department of Public Safety has not provided an update in months, reported Blacklock’s.

Public Safety Canada is responsible for creating a searchable online registry of individuals acting on behalf of foreign countries, corporations or lobby groups.

“They haven’t set that up even though it was passed into law by Parliament,” claimed Poilievre. An associate minister said last December that it would become available by June.

Parliament last June 19 passed into law Bill C-70, An Act Respecting Countering Foreign Interference, which requires those lobbying public office holders under foreign influence to register, with penalties of up to five years imprisonment or a $5 million fine.

“Why haven’t the Liberals got the foreign agent registry up and running?” asked Poilievre. “Then we would know proactively who is working on behalf of a foreign government.”

He stated that Conservatives are against foreign interference and that a foreign registry would help Canadians identify "bad actors" during elections.

A recent Blacklock’s report said Chinese spies targeted political staffers in a bid to influence Canadian elections. 

“Foreign interference activities often transcend party lines, ideologies and ethnic backgrounds and often take place over a period of several years,” said the memo People’s Republic Of China Foreign Interference In Canada: A Critical National Security Threat.

Senator Yuen Pau Woo criticized Bill C-70, claiming Ottawa is biased against China and implying that political aides, commentators and public employees are complicit.

He blamed unnamed agitators for dividing Chinese Canadians into “good Chinese” and “bad Chinese” without evidence.

The Senator previously championed a Commons petition against a registry, calling it a “serious harassment and stigmatization risk” for Chinese Canadians. Petition E-4395 only garnered 2,450 signatures.

PETITION: Kick Them Out

26,023 signatures
Goal: 40,000 signatures

China set up surveillance outposts in the Greater Toronto Area to spy on people — the government must kick these bureaus out of Canada. If you agree, sign this petition.

Will you sign?

Alex Dhaliwal

Journalist and Writer

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

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COMMENTS

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  • Bernhard Jatzeck
    commented 2025-04-11 19:52:03 -0400
    Bruce, remember that it’s the victors who write the history.
  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-04-11 19:40:47 -0400
    Liberals know they’re guilty so they drag out the process until after the election. But history will prove us Conservatives to be right. Today’s conspiracy theory will be tomorrow’s conspiracy fact.