House of Commons expected to pass foreign interference bill

The House of Commons is expected to pass a wide-ranging bill Thursday to combat foreign interference, by expanding powers for Canadian intelligence gathering, introducing new criminal offences and creating a foreign agent registry.

Bill C-70, the Countering Foreign Interference Act, comes as the Liberal government faces mounting pressure to tackle threats to diaspora communities and Canada’s electoral process.

Last week, a startling report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged parliamentarians are “wittingly” or “semi-wittingly” collaborating with foreign governments.

On Tuesday, MPs passed a Bloc Québécois motion for the public inquiry into foreign interference to investigate these bombshell allegations.

The commission of inquiry, led by Quebec Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, released an interim report last month that determined China meddled in the last two elections. The efforts did not change the outcome of the 2019 and 2021 votes but did “taint the process” by undermining the rights of Canadians, Hogue found.

The Conservatives, who support Bill C-70, have accused the Liberals of dragging their feet on foreign interference, and introduced a motion to fast-track the bill so it’s in place before the next election, slated for October 2025.

The NDP initially tried to block the move but now supports C-70.

However, 14 civil liberty groups recently wrote a letter to MPs, criticizing the bill as being overly broad and saying it has not received enough study.

MPs are wrapping up hearings after roughly a week, which those organizations call too swift.

“Unfortunately, the legislative study of this important bill is currently taking place in an extremely rushed fashion,” the Canadian Civil