NDP MP Peter Julian speaks in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on May 7.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
New Democrats rejected a Conservative proposal to allow the House of Commons just two weeks to review new legislation to counter foreign interference in Canada’s democracy, saying such a constrained timeline would not allow for MPs to make informed decisions on the bill.
NDP House Leader Peter Julian said his party supports the Countering Foreign Interference Act in principle but believes it’s important to hear from witnesses on the legislation before setting a timeline for a final vote.
The government tabled the long-delayed bill in early May. The sweeping legislation, dubbed Bill C-70, establishes a foreign interference registry, grants new powers to Canada’s spy agency and creates new criminal offences, such as political interference.
Opposition parties and intelligence and security experts have pressed the case for Canada to bolster its defences against foreign interference before the next election, which is set to happen by October, 2025, at the latest. However, the minority government’s late introduction of the legislation put that in doubt because of the time needed to go through the legislative process in the House and the Senate and then craft regulations.
In response to that time crunch, Conservative MP Michael Chong presented a motion Wednesday to complete all House scrutiny and pass the bill by June 12.
If the motion had passed, it would have given priority use of House resources for the public safety committee, set four days of witness testimony beginning on Monday, required all proposed amendments be submitted by June 10, for MPs to then enter clause-by-clause consideration on the same day. The House would have then had to vote on the legislation by end of proceedings on June 12.
“Time is running out to strengthen the confidence Canadians have in our elections,” said Mr. Chong, who is the party’s foreign affairs critic and was himself a target of foreign interference by Beijing.
The NDP denied the unanimous consent required to fast-track the bill on the basis that agreeing to pass it before reviewing it and hearing from expert witnesses was imprudent. Mr. Julian tabled another motion that was a direct copy of the Conservative motion but removed the deadlines for clause-by-clause consideration and the final vote in the House.
He said the party was open to a subsequent motion that would set a timeline for the final steps after hearing from witnesses.
The Conservatives rejected the counter offer. “What the NDP are proposing is to not have an end date. We want this bill passed,” said Opposition House Leader Andrew Scheer.
Mr. Julian said he was flabbergasted by the Conservatives’ response and accused them of acting in bad faith by not passing the portion of the motion that was agreed to unanimously.
“It’s Conservatives that are blocking the committee resources that we need for next week,” he said.
The House ultimately agreed to a subsequent motion to send the bill immediately to committee for study. The first witnesses to testify on the bill will appear Thursday morning. They include senior staff from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the public safety and justice departments.
The government has not yet released the Charter statement on the bill which would identify the potential effects the legislation may have on rights and freedoms. Justice Minister Arif Virani has already said the bill respects the Charter, but the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has said it is not Charter compliant and requires significant changes to be brought in line with guaranteed rights and freedoms.
The legislation combats foreign interference by creating a mandatory registry for people undertaking “influence activity” in politics or government on behalf of foreign powers and giving Canada’s spy agency more authority to counter threats.
When it tabled the bill, the government said it would make it easier to prosecute anyone who tries to coerce someone with intimidation or threats on behalf of a foreign entity or terrorist group.
Bill C-70 also creates a new sabotage offence under the Criminal Code that would protect the country’s essential infrastructure. The government says the new offence would not apply to lawful demonstrations but constitutional and civil liberties experts have warned it is overly broad and could stifle legitimate protest.
The omnibus bill was tabled days after the Hogue inquiry into foreign interference released its first report, saying meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections undermined the right of Canadian voters to have an electoral process “free from coercion or covert influence” and may have affected results in a small number of ridings.