A democratic watchdog is complaining a Trudeau-commissioned report on foreign interference is "incomplete", "much too weak" and "mostly a cover-up" in its recommendations.
In a press release, Democracy Watch said the final report of the Hogue Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Canadian politics fell far short, with a “dirty dozen” loopholes that make secret, unethical and undemocratic foreign interference activities easy to get away with.
The organization says the recommendations still allow for foreign businesses and other entities to use multiple proxies to obscure that they are funding or supporting interference.
"Disturbingly," Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue concludes that foreign interference activities have had “minimal impact” on Canadian politics, something Democracy Watch said "no one should claim because it is impossible to know that given it is legal to do many of the activities in secret."
The watchdog also questions Hogue's statement that she had “access to all the documents I deemed relevant, without redactions for national security reasons."
The final report does not make it clear how many documents the Trudeau Cabinet withheld completely from the inquiry. As of last June, the Trudeau Cabinet was withholding an unknown number of documents, and had redacted about 3,000 documents submitted to the inquiry.
“Very unfortunately, the Hogue Inquiry’s final report is mostly a cover-up that ignores a dozen loopholes in federal laws that make secret, unethical and undemocratic foreign interference activities easy to get away with, and ignores the many serious flaws that make Canada’s anti-interference enforcement system partisan, Cabinet-controlled, slow to act, ineffective, secretive and largely unaccountable,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch.
“However, the report calls for some key changes that must be made before a federal election occurs, and all parties should quickly pass a bill making these and other key changes after Parliament opens, and any party that doesn’t support doing this should be shunned by voters for supporting foreign interference.”
These changes include closing some of the loopholes in the current laws that cover voting in nomination and party leadership contests, disinformation, donations, loans and “third-party” (interest-group) spending during nomination and party leadership contests and elections, and between elections.
Conacher questions Hogue's claims of having made a “rigorous and thorough investigation” as the final report claims. Democracy Watch intervened in the Inquiry, and submitted six detailed, comprehensive policy papers as well as a report on the loopholes in Bill C-70 (which was enacted by Parliament in June) that detailed loopholes that remain.
Democracy Watch’s final submission filed in November contains links to all six policy papers.
Democracy Watch also submitted to a House Committee in November a detailed analysis of the loopholes left open by Bill C-65, which proposed changes to Canada’s election law but was derailed by Prime Minister Trudeau’s prorogation of Parliament. The Hogue Inquiry’s final report essentially recommends the same changes contained in Bill C-65 plus a few other changes.
Conacher insists a “dirty dozen” loopholes would still remain in federal laws that allow foreign “proxies” to spend unlimited funds in secret in nomination and party leadership contests, to do disinformation campaigns, to hide their funders, and to fundraise and lobby in secret, and high donation limits make it easy to funnel big money amounts into our system.
As well, ten key systemic enforcement flaws make Canada’s anti-interference enforcement system partisan, Cabinet-controlled, slow to act, ineffective, secretive and largely unaccountable.
A Democracy Watch has published a backgrounder online that summarizes all the loopholes and weak enforcement problems as well as a summary of 17 key changes left to enact.