Government pitches foreign influence registry, new powers for CSIS in attempt to curb foreign interference

Between Chinese police stations, election interference, and Indian assassins, yeah we need to tighten up our security.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The federal government unveiled a long-anticipated bill Monday aimed at curbing foreign interference in Canadian political life — from school boards to the House of Commons.

The bill would make it an indictable offence under the Security of Information Act  ��— punishable by up to life in prison —  for anyone to, at the direction of a foreign entity, engage in "surreptitious or deceptive conduct" to influence a political or governmental process, which includes party nomination contests.

In her first report, released Friday, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue (who is leading the inquiry) said she could not rule out the possibility that China interfered in the 2019 Liberal nomination contest for the riding of Don Valley North.

Those caught violating the rules of the proposed new foreign influence transparency registry could risk millions of dollars in financial penalties and prison time.

The government says in background documents it is pitching the changes so "CSIS can successfully operate in a digital world," but the changes will likely attract scrutiny from civil liberty groups in the coming days and weeks.

Hogue stressed that foreign interference attempts from China, India, Russia and others did not affect which political party formed the government in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.

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