Procedure and House Affairs Committee on June 16th, 2026

[Matt Jeneroux, Liberal, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Sure. I appreciate that.

A question period note dated June 9, 2025, states that establishing an independent office takes time and that allies like Australia and the United Kingdom took over two years to implement their systems. By your judgment, is it a similar timeline that you're working with?

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

Exactly. Similar offices in like countries took over two years to implement. I think this is a reasonable time to create a new regulatory regime, especially something as sensitive as this one. It needs to be done right. There are complexities to doing it. We are within these reasonable timelines for implementation.

[Matt Jeneroux, Liberal, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Did you connect with Australia and the United Kingdom when doing it?

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

We did so extensively, yes. First, before we drafted the legislation, we engaged quite significantly with the U.S., with the U.K. and with Australia, learning from their experience. We learned valuable insights. Once the legislation was in place, we had follow-up conversations to talk about operationalization, regulations and other similar items of that nature.

[Matt Jeneroux, Liberal, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

What were some of the learnings from there that might be helpful in terms of setting up?

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

Some of the key lessons were around the credibility of enforcement relating to the regime. One key lesson was the obligation to have a broader range of compliance mechanisms so that the commissioner would have more flexibility and proportionality in responding to different kinds of situations rather than having just one blunt instrument. That's how the regime was designed.

We also had many conversations on the nature of exemptions and what this means, as well as on the necessity to do good outreach and give information to the public before we go live.

[Matt Jeneroux, Liberal, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Can we assume, then, that at the end of the day our system will be very similar to that of other G7 or Five Eyes alliance countries, such as Australia and the United Kingdom?

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

It will be similar in its essence. By this I mean that the purpose of the regime will be to create transparency in public affairs and to counter malign foreign influence. There will be some differences. For example, in Canada we'll have an independent commissioner. In the U.S., U.K. and Australia, they report to government officials. There are certain differences such as this that adapt to the realities of how the lobbying regimes in these countries are established, but in essence we're talking about similar regimes.

[Matt Jeneroux, Liberal, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Presumably, they'd be similar based just on specific elements within our country versus the other countries.

Mr. Chair, I'm essentially done. Thanks.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Thank you so much.

Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, you have the floor for six minutes.

Welcome to the committee.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you to the members of the committee for having me.

Mr. Aubertin‑Giguère, thank you for taking part in the committee meeting today.

If I'm not mistaken, the committee had invited Commissioner Boegman and Minister Anandasangaree to appear today. Unfortunately, it's just you. I am not downplaying your importance as a person. However, generally speaking, it's not the role of a deputy minister to speak publicly on behalf of the government. Rather, you're there to provide policy advice.

Do you feel that appearing by yourself is a bit like being thrown to the wolves?

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

No, not at all. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I am the person responsible for the implementation of the regime. Therefore, I'm the right person to be here today.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

You don't disappoint me. It's obviously the absence of the other two people that disappoints me. They may have very good reasons; that's up to them. However, it's still very disappointing because this is an important topic, I think, and we would have hoped to hear from all the people who make the decisions or who will hold positions so that they could answer questions.

Is it customary for Minister Anandasangaree, who was summoned, to be absent and replaced by a deputy minister? In any of the committees I've sat on in the past, I've never seen ministers not show up and send staff instead. I'm wondering if, in his case, this is the norm or if it's actually an exception today.

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

I wouldn't be able to tell you if it's the norm, but it's not the first time I've seen it. It's not abnormal.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Okay.

Is there any indication that the Minister of Public Safety may appear on another date? Were proposals made for the minister to appear before the committee? You may have more information than I do.

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

I really don't know. I'm sorry, but I don't have that information.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Okay.

You'll understand that, if the minister hasn't made a proposal, it almost seems like a refusal to appear. That's why I asked whether he had proposed other dates. Since you have a closer connection with him than he has with us, I thought you might be able to tell us whether that is the case or not.

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

No, I'm really not in a position to answer your question. Perhaps you could refer to the chair of the committee.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Okay.

I would like to talk about Commissioner Boegman's absence. I understood that he had been appointed by the government but had not yet taken office. Would it be necessary for him to take office in order to be at the table today, or is it not necessarily connected?

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

The Countering Foreign Interference Act provided that the appointment of the commissioner had to be subject to consultation with the opposition parties, which was done, and also that it had to be the subject of a resolution in the House of Commons and the Senate, which was done.

The commissioner is a commissioner in waiting. However, until the act comes into force, there is no enabling legislation to create his position. In the meantime, Mr. Boegman is a senior adviser to the department. He has already appeared as part of the resolution process—

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Okay. Then nothing would prevent him from appearing.

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

Nothing is preventing him.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Do we know if any appearance dates have been provided or proposed to the committee?

[Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère]

Perhaps you should refer to the chair of the committee. Mr. Boegman had good reasons not to be here today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

I'm not involved in the question and answer portion. If you can't answer, you can't answer.