High profile Canadians may be in the pay of foreign agents, says a Department of Public Safety memo. The document did not identify any public office holders by name, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“Some foreign sates engage in acts of foreign interference to advance foreign political interest and influence federal officials and decision makers,” said the briefing note Foreign Interference..“As part of these efforts they may employ individuals, some of whom may be high profile, to act on their behalf without disclosing ties to the foreign state.”.The department did not identify any country it suspected of controlling public office holders. However, the memo said Canada continues to be targeted by foreign states such as the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Russian, and others seeking to "advance their political, economic and security interests to the detriment of Canada’s.”.The department also said it had no opinion on a private Conservative bill now before the Senate that would require foreign agents to disclose contacts and cash payments in lobbying Parliament. “No decision has been made,” wrote staff..Bill S-237 An Act To Establish The Foreign Influence Registry would mandate disclosure of all lobbyists acting for “a foreign government, an individual or entity related to a foreign government” under threat of $200,000 fines and two years in jail..The bill was introduced February 24. It is still at second reading. The measure is similar to Australia’s 2018 Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act and the United States’ 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act, which was a law originally introduced to track Nazi agents..“Foreign influence and interference is real,” Senator Leo Housakos (Que.), sponsor of the bill, said in March 29 debate. “It is very much happening right here in Canada. In many cases it can be financial.”.“Why shouldn’t we have a registry?” said Housakos. “Do Canadians not deserve to know who is lobbying their public officials on behalf of foreign entities?”.“Countries like China, countries like Iran, countries like Russia, we have evidence to show they are very active right now within our borders within various institutions,” said Housakos. A public registry “is badly needed,” he added. “It would be the right thing to do.”.Richard Fadden, retired director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, in 2021 testimony at the Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations said Parliament must be awake to subterfuge by Chinese agents. “The great difficulty we have in Canada is the general public has trouble understanding that we’re threatened,” said Fadden..“They’re after us, if I can use the vernacular, from a whole variety of perspectives,” said Fadden. “And they’re after us in a negative sort of way.”.Michael Juneau-Katsuya, former chief of the Asia-Pacific desk at the Intelligence Service, testified August 9 at the Commons ethics committee that unnamed politicians have accepted secret payments from foreign agents. “There are elected officials at all levels whether it’s municipal, provincial or federal who are being paid by foreign governments and who are not necessarily acting in the interests of Canada,” he said.
