Amid requests by opposition MPs for a foreign agent registry in the face of increased espionage and influence activities by Beijing, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Canada should be “thoughtful and inclusive” when it comes to creating such a registry. “We need agencies to be inclusive, diverse, culturally sensitive,” Mendicino told the House of Commons Committee on…

Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong is calling for the expulsion of Chinese diplomats after a report said there are two more secret Chinese police stations in Canada. In a Twitter post on Dec. 13, Chong reiterated his call last week for Ottawa to expel the Chinese diplomats, citing a report from Spain-based…

Canada has made official complaints to the Chinese ambassador in regard to reports of unofficial Chinese police service stations operating in Canada, a senior official from the foreign affairs department told MPs. Weldon Epp, director general for Global Affairs Canada’s Asia Pacific Bureau, testified at the House Canada-China committee on Nov. 29, that his department…

An obscure group supporting the alleged Chinese spy working at Hydro-Québec showed the need for a foreign registry, said Sen. Leo Housakos. On Nov. 15, Yuesheng Wang made a first court appearance after he was arrested by the RCMP a day earlier for allegedly sending trade secrets to China, which police said was “to the detriment of…

Conservative, Bloc, and NDP MPs are requesting an emergency House of Commons meeting to get answers over reports that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had “actively worked to influence” Canada’s federal election in 2019. The allegations stem from a Global News report on Nov. 7 that intelligence officials had warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and…

A China expert says Canada needs to put strong legislation in place that allows for “severe punishments” in order to counter foreign interference in the country. Jonathan Manthorpe, author of “Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada,” testified before the parliamentary Canada-China committee (CACN) on Oct. 25, where he was…

Foreign political influencers will be compelled to register their activities or face imprisonment, fine, or both, the UK government said on Tuesday. The new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) was introduced as an amendment to the National Security Bill, which is passing through Parliament. It comes after the Security Service, also known as MI5, resorted to…

The UK must close loopholes in its political donations rules in order to block foreign influence in British politics, an election watchdog has said. John Pullinger, the chairman of the Electoral Commission, the UK’s independent elections agency, said there are not enough safeguards in place for the British public to have confidence that “unlawful” foreign…

A Conservative senator has apologized to a former Conservative MP after accusing him of “lying” to another senator about a disinformation campaign that he says cost him his seat in the last election. “I would like to apologize to former MP Kenny Chiu, Senator Leo Housakos, and to all my colleagues here in the chamber…

A Conservative senator says it’s time Canada tackles the issue of foreign interference in a “meaningful way,” for any effort contrary to that will only lead to the public losing trust in the country’s institutions. “Canada’s intelligence agencies have long been warning about this threat of malign foreign influence toward our democracy and our society,”…