Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Feb. 26th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 23 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

Pursuant to Standing Orders 110 and 111, the committee is meeting today to consider the certificate of nomination of Anton Boegman to the position of foreign influence transparency commissioner.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely on Zoom. Before we continue, I ask all in-person participants to consult the guidelines on the cards on the table. Please take a moment to watch the video. This is for the health and safety of everyone here, especially our interpreters.

I will remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair. As always, if you'd like to speak, put up your hand.

I'd like to welcome today's witness, Anton Boegman, the nominee for the position of foreign influence transparency commissioner. You have five minutes to deliver your opening remarks.

[Anton Boegman, Nominee for the position of Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner, As an Individual]

Thank you and good morning, Mr. Chair and committee members.

It is my pleasure to appear before this committee in relation to my nomination as foreign influence transparency commissioner.

Canada's institutions and interests are increasingly under threat from foreign interference. Malign foreign actors seek to exert influence through covert means to shape public policy, to change public opinion or to interfere with our democratic processes, all to support their own interests. A critical measure to counter these activities is transparency. Canadians need to know who is trying to influence them and why.

The office of the foreign influence transparency commissioner is being established to enable this transparency, to enforce the rules and regulations that will govern what types of influence activity need to be disclosed, and to support the efforts of other agencies and offices in protecting Canadian institutions and interests.

I'm honoured that I'm being nominated for the position of commissioner. I've devoted my entire career to protecting and supporting our democracy, first as a naval officer, and then, for the past seven years, as the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia, an independent non-partisan role.

In 2018, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, I examined the risks associated with disinformation and foreign interference in elections.

My reports to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia on these issues led to the adoption of innovative legislative measures to combat deliberate misinformation, while maintaining Charter protections.

I believe that, while effective legislation is necessary, a multi-faceted approach is better.

In 2023, in response to evolving risks to elections, I established an election integrity working group, unique at the provincial level, bringing together other provincial and federal agencies with roles in protecting democracy. I believe this experience is directly relevant to the mandate of the office and demonstrates my ability to build the kinds of partnerships and information-sharing pathways that will be essential for consistent application of the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act nationwide.

My service as an independent officer of the B.C. legislature has provided me with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to be successful in the role of commissioner. I've administered elections, implemented registers, and regulated election advertising and campaign finance. I've carried out large-scale communications campaigns and have interpreted and enforced the rules in a fair and non-partisan manner. My values of accessibility, integrity, transparency, accountability and service guide my decision-making and are aligned with what is required in the commissioner role.

This is a new office in the process of being established. If I have the honour of being appointed commissioner, my priorities will be to launch and operationalize the office and registry, to engage with communities likely to be targeted, and to build public awareness of the office, the registry and the rules. It's critically important to ensure that there is clarity about the rules and that they are understood. I would also work to establish and operationalize partnerships required to support this mandate—for example, with CSIS and the RCMP. I believe it's essential to start enforcing the rules promptly and to report publicly on that activity.

Citizens need to see this work in action. Only then will it work to support efforts to strengthen public trust in our democratic institutions—by making transparent foreign influence activities and by reinforcing fairness through a non-partisan approach to enforcement.

My message to Canadians is this: If I'm appointed Canada’s first foreign influence transparency commissioner, I will tirelessly commit to ensuring that activities aimed at influencing political and governmental processes in Canada are made public, that foreign actors are deterred from carrying out clandestine influence activities in Canada and that the regulations currently being developed are enforced.

I hope I can count on your support.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Thank you very much.

We'll now go to Mr. Cooper for six minutes, please.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Boegman, getting the foreign influence registry up and running has been a real challenge for this government. There has been delay after delay. To be clear, that's not your fault; that's their fault. First, the Liberals said the registry would be up and running before the last election, then they said it would be up and running in June 2025. It was then supposed to be in place by December 2025. When the Minister of Public Safety last appeared before this committee earlier this month, he had a vague new timeline as the spring of this year.

You've been nominated to serve as the commissioner of the registry. Do you have any idea when the registry will be up and running?

[Anton Boegman]

At this time I don't have a timeline as to when the registry will be up and running. I am simply a nominee. I've been engaged in the process to get me to this point. I have not been engaged in any level of detail with the work that's been ongoing to establish the office and to get the registry up and running.

I can say that it would be a priority of mine to get the registry up and running, whether it's in an interim format or whether it is in the complete technological solution that would be necessary. I can say that I would work immediately to start developing the necessary guidance, the necessary information bulletins, to establish clarity about the rest—

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Thank you for that.

You indicated that up until this point you've had no involvement with getting the registry up and running. I want to be clear. For example, in January the Department of Public Safety released draft regulations. There was a public consultation period that ended at the beginning of this month. I take it you were not involved in any way in preparing the draft regulations. Do I have that right?

[Anton Boegman]

That is correct. I've read the regulations, obviously, but I have had no role in preparing the regulations.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

The final regulations are being prepared and that process is under way. Are you involved in that process?

[Anton Boegman]

I am not involved in that process.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

You've not been consulted whatsoever?

[Anton Boegman]

No.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

In terms of staff, have staff for the office been hired?

[Anton Boegman]

My understanding is that there is a transition team that's housed in Public Safety that's doing the work right now to get the office in readiness. My understanding is that more staff will need to be hired if I am the—

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

To get the office to readiness, you said that more staff will need to be hired once you're appointed, but have any staff been hired who will be housed on a permanent basis?

[Anton Boegman]

I do not know that.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

You do not know that. Okay.

Would you agree that the independence of your office is key to your office and the registry functioning properly and free from interference?

[Anton Boegman]

Yes, I think independence of the role is critical.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Does it concern you, from the standpoint of ensuring that independence, that the Department of Public Safety drafted and is now in the process of finalizing draft regulations without any input whatsoever from you, the almost certainly soon-to-be commissioner?

[Anton Boegman]

I think that's largely a function of how the legislation has been drafted and that a commissioner cannot be in place until the law is in effect.

However, it's not unlike the model in B.C. When I was appointed chief electoral officer in British Columbia, there was obviously a code in place for the administration of those elections for the campaign finance requirements, and that is the code that was used. Once I was in office, I was able to assess whether I thought it was effective and where I thought the gaps might be, and to make recommendations for change.

I am pleased to see that much of the detail in relation to the registry is set out in regulations that provide greater flexibility in the future to evolve what is required for the registry as the threat may change.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Once you're appointed as commissioner, you're going to have a big job ahead of you, given the very real threats posed by foreign interference actors. The government has allocated $25 million to the office over the next 10 years. That works out to roughly $2.5 million every year. That includes everything from securing office space to setting up supporting IT infrastructure to paying salaries for staff.

From your standpoint, are you satisfied that your office is sufficiently resourced to do the job of administering and enforcing the registry?

[Anton Boegman]

I must confess that I have not yet had the opportunity to do a detailed plan as to what I think would be necessary, being in the role. I need to have some level of trust that sufficient resources will be provided in order to be effective in that role. I do know that there are mechanisms to seek additional funding if I believe additional funding is necessary.

Again, that's very similar to my background as chief electoral officer. When I required additional funding to take on a new mandate to do additional things, I would appear before the appropriate legislative committees to request that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Thank you so much, Mr. Cooper.

We'll turn to Madam Kayabaga for six minutes, please.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome. I would like to first congratulate you on making it to this step and give you an opportunity to tell us about yourself and how you see yourself as qualified to do this job.

From your perspective, how do you see the foreign influence transparency registry contributing to Canada's fight against foreign interference and transnational repression? Would you say that you have experienced any cases in which a registry would have aided in countering a threat?

[Anton Boegman]

Certainly. Thank you for that.

As I explained briefly in my opening comments, I do think my experience as chief electoral officer is directly relevant to the role here. The role of the registry itself and the office of the foreign influence transparency commissioner is just about that: It's about transparency in those activities that are undertaken at the behest of, or in association with, a foreign principal to influence Canadian governmental and political processes. It is one tool in a range of tools. In fact, it is one element of what I believe should really be a whole-of-government or whole-of-society approach in being able to respond effectively to the risks of transnational repression and the risks posed to our democratic institutions from foreign interference. This piece, of course, will look to make transparent those activities when they are taking place. It will also serve to deter those who may want to undertake these activities in a covert fashion.

I do have experience in establishing a register. We had lots of registers in British Columbia. The register of electors had over 3.5 million voters. That needed to be maintained and updated on a regular basis. We had registries of political parties. We had registries of third party advertising sponsors. I do have direct experience in that area.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

That was going to be my follow-up question, on whether you had any specific events you could point to where you had to do this work.

Obviously, this will be the first time we have a commissioner in this role. What do you think you'll be working on in the first couple of months? Foreign interference is something that electors are talking about. How do we bring community trust? How do you play a role in rebridging the community trust that people need in order to continue to trust our systems when it comes to foreign interference in elections?