No foreign agent registry timeline as Australia warns of ‘unprecedented’ interference

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino did not say whether he will meet calls from security experts who say Canada could have a registry in place as soon as this summer.

The timeline for when Canada might have a long-awaited foreign agents registry up and running remains unclear as an MP from a top ally warns his country is seeing “unprecedented levels” of foreign interference by hostile actors, including China and Russia.

After announcing the launch of public consultations for the registry on Friday, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino did not say whether he will meet calls from security experts who say Canada could have the measure in place as soon as this summer when pressed by Eric Sorensen on The West Block Sunday.

“We’ve committed to having a very focused conversation around how it is that we want to inform the creation of this foreign registry,” the minister said. “I also want to be sure that we get the threshold right.

“We want to foster transparency around legitimate activities of foreign actors. We also want to deter and discourage activities that go beyond legitimate diplomacy. … And most importantly, we want to engage Canadians.”

The House of Commons is scheduled to rise for the summer on June 23.

The consultations, which will be held until May 9, are one of several new measures announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week as his government faces increased pressure to explain to Canadians how foreign interference — particularly in elections — is being combatted, as well as how much he and other top ministers have known about such efforts.

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) and the independent National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) have each been ordered to undertake studies into foreign interference.

A “special rapporteur” will also be appointed with a “wide mandate” to oversee the probes and put forward recommendations to the government — including whether it should call a public inquiry amid growing calls for a transparent investigation.