Meetings between advocates of Alberta separation and American government officials don’t have to be included in Canada’s new foreign influence registry because they took place before the registry went into effect, says Canada’s foreign influence watchdog.
Speaking to reporters after appearing before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, Anton Boegman said the law is very specific about what his mandate covers and what it doesn’t.
“The law just came into force on Aug. 4,” Boegman said. “So, there are things that may have taken place previously that are not applicable now. But, certainly, we’re focused on what’s taking place right now.”
On Oct. 3, the Globe and Mail reported that as recently as April, some of those campaigning for Alberta independence had met on both sides of the border with U.S. entities.
CBC News previously reported that some of those meetings took place in U.S. State Department offices in Washington, D.C., last year.
Boegman said he has reached out to more than 60 people or groups involved in the Alberta referendum, including the Alberta Prosperity Project, one of the groups that the State Department confirmed it had met with.
“These are people who are engaged in the debate,” he said. “We wanted to make sure that they were aware of what the requirements are of our law, so if they did meet those, that they could then register.”
However, Boegman said he has not reached out to any Americans.
Boegman said under his mandate, individuals attempting to influence Canadian politics on behalf of a foreign government or foreign government entity have to register. However, if someone is being paid by a foreign think–tank or foundation to influence, it isn’t covered under his mandate.
“I administer my mandate,” he said. “There are other agencies that have roles to play in this space. CSIS has a role to play. RCMP has a role to play. [Global Affairs Canada] has a role to play. So there’s other agencies that are part of the collective response to issues.”
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That means that the Defense Analyses and Research Corporation, the U.S. think-tank that was reported during the Quebec election to have tried to get a Parti Québécois government elected, would not be covered under the federal foreign influence law because it is not a foreign government entity.
Boegman could not say if his office has received registrations from anyone working on behalf of a foreign government to influence the Alberta referendum or whether any registrations his office may have received would be included in the foreign influence registry before Albertans vote on Oct. 19.
“I have not yet looked at that information,” he said. “I’m getting briefed on it this week.”
Earlier, during testimony before the House of Commons procedures and House affairs committee, Boegman revealed that his office received only 30 submissions by the Oct. 4 deadline to register pre-existing arrangements, despite an estimate by the Public Safety Department that 2,422 individuals or organizations would meet the criteria for having to register foreign influence activities.
New arrangements with foreign principals must be registered within 14 days.
Two months after the registry came into effect, only two entries appear in the public registry. A third, that was briefly published and withdrawn, will eventually be published again.
Conservative MP Michael Cooper, seen here in 2023, grilled Boegman over problems with the new foreign influence office. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Conservative MP Michael Cooper seized on the number, pointing out that the registrations received to date is a small fraction of what Public Safety had estimated.
“It certainly doesn’t exactly instill confidence,” he said.
Cooper also grilled Boegman about two privacy breaches by his office and repeated technical problems with the registry, despite $29.4 million earmarked by Public Safety for its IT systems.
Boegman said the system was set up as a “minimum viable product” to launch on Aug. 4 and his office is working to rectify the problems.
He said his office is also working to spread the word about the need for those engaged in foreign influence to register and will decide what steps to take next after reviewing the registrations that have been submitted.
