Foreign influence registry will make bad actors ‘think twice,’ nominee says
Global News
If confirmed by Parliament, Anton Boegman would oversee Canada's new and long-delayed foreign influence transparency registry and administer penalties for non-compliance.
The man nominated to lead Canada’s new and long-delayed foreign influence transparency registry says he believes the threat of financial penalties will make foreign agents “think twice” about trying to covertly interfere in Canadian electoral processes.
Draft regulations for the independent registry published last month propose fining people and organizations up to $1 million for failing to register their presence and activities in Canada.
Ottawa says the registry is needed because countries engaging in meddling to advance political goals might employ people to act on their behalf without disclosing those ties.
Anton Boegman, a former chief electoral officer of British Columbia, told the House of Commons procedure and house affairs committee Thursday that he’s not “naïve” to think that the planned registry by itself will entirely solve the overall problem of foreign interference.
He said it will be used as another way to keep Canadians informed about who their elected officials are interacting with, or who certain political or community actors are working for, and would not be used as a tool used to persecute foreign actors or diaspora communities.
“Interference activities, they’ve been ongoing since governments were around,” Boegman said. “I think I read once that there was French interference in the U.S. presidential election of 1796 because they wanted Mr. Jefferson, I believe, to be elected president, and there was all kinds of things happening there.
“I think by really being clear what the requirements are for registration, about when activities meet those requirements, and by having a way that doesn’t have a high administrative burden to register, that’ll be important in making sure that it’s easy for those who need to register to register,” he continued.
“I think having the deterrent will mean that people who are doing these activities covertly will think twice about doing these activities.”
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If confirmed by Parliament, Anton Boegman would oversee Canada's new and long-delayed foreign influence transparency registry and administer penalties for non-compliance.
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