Thank you very much, Chair.
Thank you to the committee for the opportunity to testify on this important topic today.
I am, as mentioned, representing Democracy Watch. However, in several cases, in terms of the changes that I will be proposing that the committee recommend on any reported issues, I will also be representing Democracy Watch's coalitions of citizen groups. They have a total membership of about 1.5 million Canadians, and they are collectively calling for these various changes.
The main overall point I'm making is that simply putting in place a foreign agent registry, especially if it's loophole-filled, will not do much to stop foreign interference. Loopholes in election donations and spending and in lobbying and ethics rules currently make secret foreign interference relatively easy, as do the very weak and cabinet-appointed watchdogs, who have very weak enforcement powers. They generally also have very weak attitudes and practices in terms of enforcement.
First, turning to the foreign agent registry, it must require anyone or any entity to register if they are paid or compensated in any way, directly or indirectly, by a foreign government, a foreign entity or a foreigner. It must also require them to register if they have some arrangement with them for any activities that involve public relations, communications or any political activities aimed at influencing politicians, parties or governments. If the registry only requires registration of people or entities paid to directly influence Canadian politics, they will easily be able to avoid being required to register by arranging to be compensated for other services, or in some other way, while doing the influence activities for free.
Second, more than 40 lawyers and professors, 26 citizen groups and The Globe and Mail, in two editorials, have called for your colleagues on the House ethics committee—and I hope you will call on them—to reverse their position and to reject federal Commissioner of Lobbying Nancy Bélanger's proposal to gut key ethical lobbying rules in the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct in ways that will make secret interference in elections and secret activities to influence federal MPs and party leaders easier for foreign governments. Essentially, Commissioner Bélanger and the committee are proposing to gut key ethical lobbying rules in ways that would allow lobbyists to bribe MPs.
Third, loopholes in the lobbying law allow for secret lobbying. If you are allowed to lobby without registering under the lobbying law, then you can lobby unethically, because the lobbyists' code doesn't even apply to you. It doesn't even matter if it's gutted, because it doesn't even apply to lobbyists who are not required to register. That also facilitates secret lobbying by foreign interests and agents.
Fourth, loopholes and too-high limits on donations and spending allow wealthy interests, including foreign-sponsored lobby groups, to have undue influence over elections and policy-making processes.
Fifth, lobbyists and lobby groups, including foreign-sponsored lobbyists and lobby groups, are allowed to collude with contestants for nominations and party leadership in secret, and non-citizens are allowed to vote in both nomination contests and party leadership contests. Those are all loopholes that facilitate foreign interference.
Sixth, federal ethics rules have huge loopholes that allow MPs to act unethically and allow ministers and top government officials to have secret investments and to participate in decisions that they profit from. These allow for unethical arrangements, including with foreign lobby groups and foreign-sponsored groups. This committee failed to address any of these loopholes when it reviewed the MPs' ethics code last year, in secret mostly, and issued an initial report last June.
In fact, this committee—and you say you're concerned about foreign interference—proposed, and the House approved on March 30, a new loophole in the MPs ethics code that now allows lobby groups, including foreign-sponsored lobby groups, to pay secretly for interns in your offices. Essentially, you have made it legal now for foreign-sponsored groups to plant spies in MPs' offices and to pay for them in secret, with no disclosure.
Seventh, many types of false claims are allowed about election candidates, party leaders and MPs. No enforcement agency has the power to order social media companies to remove false online posts or ads.
Finally, eighth, as I mentioned at the top, enforcement of election, political donation and spending, and lobbying and ethics laws is very weak. All the watchdogs are hand-picked by the ruling party cabinet through secretive partisan political appointment processes. They all lack key powers and do not even have to report on complaints or situations they review and investigate. They can fail to do their jobs completely.
That includes the so-called independent critical election incident public protocol panel, which is not independent at all, because it's made up of public servants who were chosen by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Prime Minister. The cabinet directive for the protocol has several flaws that allow essentially for cover-ups of foreign interference—