Foreign interference: a federal guard dog will be appointed next month | Public inquiry into foreign interference

In interview with CBC NewsAnandasangaree argued that the fight against transnational repression and foreign interference in Canada was An absolute priority for the Prime Minister.

The minister said that Mark Carney had responsible for ensuring that the government was ready to implement the measures adopted last year, provided for by law concerning the fight against foreign interference, by the resumption of parliamentary work.

We warn the world that Canada is an independent and sovereign nation with a manifest capacity to ensure the safety of Canadians. And any attempt aimed at bypassing or compromising this principle will be sanctionedsaid Anandasangaree.

According to the Minister, the recent attacks by American President Donald Trump against Canada’s sovereignty, once again illustrates the urgency of fighting transnational interventions.

While we are talking about the strength of Canada, the sovereignty of which we are proud, because we will never be the state of another country, I think it is all the more important as we clearly say to the world [que] Canada is not a place to interfere with the rights of citizenshe said.

Looking for candidates

These anandasangae statements occur more than a year after the adoption by the Parliament, in June 2024, of Bill C-70, which became the law concerning the fight against foreign interference. This law provides in particular for the appointment of a new commissioner for transparency in matters of foreign interference, after consultation with the opposition parties recognized in the House of Commons.

The law also provides for the creation of a public register of people who work in Canada as agents on behalf of foreign governments.

The government is currently selecting and approving potential candidates for this position, according to Anandasangaree. He hopes to be able to present candidates for the Conservative Party of Canada and the Bloc Québécois – the only ones who currently have recognized party status – before the resumption of parliamentary work on September 15.

We will have names to submit to the opposition and, shortly after, we should be able to finalize the processsaid Minister Anandasangaree.

Once the Commissioner has been appointed, the government will sign the decree necessary for the creation of the register, which will be Certainly before Christmashe said. I hope it will be long before. I actually expect that we can finish it by grace action here.

The Minister of Public Security added that the government also planned to implement several Recommendations of the public inquiry into foreign interference (new window) Chaired by judge Marie-Josée Hogue.

In her final report, Ms. Hogue concluded that the transnational repression in Canada was a real scourge and that the People’s Republic of China was the most active author of foreign interference targeting Canadian democratic institutions.

China, particularly active

In a recent investigation, CBC News has documented Chinese transnational repression in Canada. The approach, which is part of a survey by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), has revealed that China had shown more and more audacity in this area.

In many cases, dissidents are targeted for having expressed opinions contrary to the Chinese government’s positions on what he calls The five poisons : democracy in Hong Kong, the treatment of Uighurs, freedom in Tibet, the spiritual practice of Falun Gong and the independence of Taiwan.

The investigation of theICIJ As for it to documented the way in which the Chinese Communist Party had used international organizations, such as Interpol and the United Nations, to track down its detractors, as well as the little efforts made by certain countries to put an end to these attacks in China.

Minister Anandasangaree said that he had spoken personally with Canadian residents targeted by transnational repression, which he describes as totally unacceptable.

According to him, the government takes the allegations seriously according to which Chinese centers established in several Canadian cities are involved in a transnational repression. These centers are currently the subject of a Canadian police investigation, he also assured.

Let’s be very clear: the idea that the Chinese government has, for example, police stations in Canada, Toronto or Scarborough, is completely unacceptablehe said.

We will apply the whole strength of the law to guarantee that, if ever this is the case, this is relegated to the past.