Canada’s long-promised registry of foreign agents may not be operational until 2026, according to a federal memo, even though Parliament passed legislation mandating it more than a year ago. Blacklock's Reporter says a briefing to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree offered no explanation for why the government missed a June 30 deadline to launch the registry.“Establishing a new independent office takes time,” read the June 9 note titled Implementation Of The Foreign Influence Transparency Registry.It added that countries like Australia and the United Kingdom took more than two years to roll out similar measures, and that Canada was “learning from their experiences.”.The registry is required under Bill C-70, An Act Respecting Countering Foreign Interference, which became law on June 19, 2024. It requires public disclosure of individuals acting “at the direction of, for the benefit of or in association with a foreign entity” when lobbying public officials. Failure to comply carries penalties of up to five years in prison or a $5 million fine.As recently as December 10, a senior Public Safety official told senators the system would be running by this summer. “We are working towards a June time frame,” testified associate assistant deputy minister Sébastien Aubertin-Giguere. “That’s our internal plan.” He also warned of “contingencies,” but said work was progressing..The latest briefing said only that the project is complex, involving legal, regulatory, technological and administrative elements. “Significant progress has been made across all of the streams,” it stated, but suggested that the March 23 dissolution of Parliament ahead of the April 28 federal election prompted a reassessment of timelines.The government has faced political pressure on foreign interference since removing four former Liberal MPs from its candidate list earlier this year: Chandra Arya, Paul Chiang, Ruby Dhalla, and Han Dong. “Certain information came to light,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said March 26. “I am not privy to the exact information.”Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the missed deadline. “Why haven’t the Liberals got the foreign agent registry up and running?” he asked April 9. “Then we would know proactively who is working on behalf of a foreign government.”The United States has had a foreign agent registry since 1938. The United Kingdom passed its version in 2023, and Australia implemented one in 2018.
