Yes, certainly.
As we get to the CSIS Act review, a key question will be whether or not “threats to the security of Canada” can include economic disruption as a form of violence that could pose a threat to the security of Canada.
Very briefly, there are two areas of concern that may tie our hands into the future. One is creating Criminal Code offences related to interference, any type of offence beyond terrorism committed in service of a foreign entity. You may find hurdles there if you have very minor offences, such as summary offences committed for a foreign entity, that could lead to severe penalties similar to those for major indictable offences.
Finally, on the transparency registry, it seems that the country-agnostic approach might prove difficult, in that you would bring a very wide range of countries to the attention of an agency that potentially could not monitor all of that information. I understand the desire not to create a permanent list of blacklisted countries, but a potential solution there would be to allow for regulations whereby the ministers, in co-operation with CSIS and its oversight body, could produce periodic lists of countries of concern that could change with time.
Thank you.