Democracy Watch is critcizing MPs on the House of Commons Public Safety and National Security Committee for "rolling over and leaving huge loopholes" in anti-foreign interference Bill C-70.The Committee’s report to the House of Commons recommended very few amendments to the bill. NDP MP Alistair McGregor successfully proposed adding 'municipal' to the list of 'political and governmental processes' under scope of the legislation.Bloc MP Rene Villemure introduced one successful amendment that the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act (FITAA) be reviewed by a committee of the House or Senate (or a joint committee) after each election, instead of every five years.Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher told Western Standard the amendments fell far short of the ones he recommended and that some lesser attempts at clarifying a fuller scope of consideration was shot down."McGregor and Villemure also proposed adding 'party leadership contests' to the list of 'political and governmental processes' covered in the requirement to disclose foreign interference activities in the proposed Foreign Influence Registry," Conacher explaine."I don't know why they did it, but Public Safety and Justice officials misled the Committee on those proposed amendments by claiming that 'party leadership contests' are included in the definitions of 'political and governmental processes'."Democracy Watch has complained about bias in the appointment process for commissioners, including the new one proposed for foreign influence. Amendments did little to change that, Conacher said."The Bill was amended in the end to include all party leaders and Senate group leaders in the list of people the Cabinet is required to consult before appointing the Commissioner. That won't make much difference because the Trudeau Cabinet showed when it appointed the Ethics Commissioner and Commissioner of Lobbying in Nov-Dec. 2017 that its definition of 'consultation' was sending the name of the person the Cabinet had chosen through a secretive, dishonest process to opposition party leaders, and telling them that the Cabinet was going to appoint that person in a week, and asking them for their thoughts."Another attempt to strengthen accountability was also shot down."Bloc MP Villemure also proposed that the FIT Commissioner file the annual report and any special report directly with Parliament, instead of to the Minister of Public Safety who would then table it in Parliament, to make the Commissioner report more directly to Parliament. Both amendments were rejected by the Committee," Conacher said."Not surprisingly, Liberal MPs defended the Bill as it was written, given it is a government bill, and they all read from prepared lines and then bounced each issue to the Public Safety and Justice officials who, as above, said everything was government under the definition of "political or governmental process."Last week, Democracy Watch filed a summary submission and a full submission with the Public Safety Committee listing the key changes needed to close loopholes in the prohibitions and requirements to disclose foreign interference and influence activities in the proposed new Foreign Influence Registry (FIR), and to make the proposed new Foreign Influence Transparency (FIT) Commissioner independent and empowered.
