moved for leave to introduce Bill C-618, An Act to amend the Lobbying Act (reporting obligations).
Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure on behalf of the people of my riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke and the people of Canada to introduce this bill, an act to amend the Lobbying Act, to read as the foreign lobbying transparency act.
This legislation is all about following the dollar, in this case to foreign capitals with very un-Canadian agendas.
I am proud to be Canadian. All Canadians have built something very special in this country. Any time there is a national discussion, Canadians have a right to know whose voice is being heard and why.
Canadians have been made very aware that foreigners have been secretly funding single or special interest groups whose lobbying efforts do not enjoy the support of regular hard-working Canadians. Many of these groups could not exist without foreign funding.
In my riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, thousands of hard-working Canadians depend on their livelihood from the working forest. Misinformation jeopardizes those jobs. Canadians have a right to know the sources of funding for those groups that seek to take away jobs from Canadians.
The foreign lobbyist transparency act would achieve financial transparency and improved accountability through the public reporting of payments made by foreigners to lobbyists.
I welcome the member for Scarborough—Guildwood to refer to this legislation as a sunshine bill.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)