Foreign Agent Registry Would Provide Government with ‘Important Tools,’ Says Blair

National Defence Minister Bill Blair responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa in this May 1, 2020 file photo. Mr. Blair is in Brussels this week to meet with NATO defence ministers. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

A foreign agent registry would provide the federal government with “important tools” and would represent a significant step in enacting a “legislative response” to current allegations of foreign interference, says Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair.

“I think Parliament does have a very significant role to play here—a responsibility,” Blair told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs on June 1, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“We’ve already identified and there have been consultations on the establishment of a foreign agent registry, which I think is going to be very important and will provide us with very important tools.”

Blair also told the committee that he hopes the advice provided to government by special rapporteur David Johnston will inform Ottawa on how it should respond to foreign interference issues with legislation.

“It’s not just an operational issue,” Blair said. “There is a legislative response that I think we need to very carefully consider.”

The minister also said cabinet must ensure the “legislative response” is “robust and effective.”

“But it also has to be done thoughtfully and carefully,” he said.

Blair said in his opening remarks that the government’s consultations on creating foreign agent registry, which began in March, wrapped up in early May and that Public Safety Canada “received positive support to proceed” with a registry.

Foreign Agent Registry

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced in early March that the government had launched public consultations on creating a foreign agent registry, which would require individuals or entities working on behalf of a foreign authority to register with the Canadian government.

The virtual portal on Public Safety Canada’s website for submitting responses during the consultation closed on May 9, but the government has still not mentioned any timelines for when it hopes to introduce the proposed foreign agent registry.

Opposition MPs have urged the government to speed up its process on creating the registry.

The House passed a Conservative motion in early May calling on the government to immediately take action on a number of items related to foreign interference, one of which was to “create a foreign agent registry similar to Australia and the United States.”

Shortly after, the Commons Special Committee on the Canada–People’s Republic of China Relationship published a report highlighting the need for a foreign agent registry.

Further, a survey conducted by Nanos Research in December 2022 found that nearly 90 percent of Canadians supported the prospect of Ottawa creating a registry of foreign agents.

Matthew Horwood and Andrew Chen contributed to this report.