Loopholes in election, donation and spending, lobbying and ethics rules make secret, unethical foreign interference and misinformation legal
Loopholes and weak, partisan enforcement mean it’s impossible to know extent of interference during past elections or since then, or to stop it
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, March 28, 2024
OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch released the list of 10 key witnesses and about 140 key questions to ask them that it has submitted to the Hogue Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Canadian politics. Democracy Watch is an intervener in the Inquiry and is represented at the Inquiry by Wade Poziomka and Nick Papageorge of Ross & McBride LLP.
About half of the questions are for the Chief Electoral Officer of Elections Canada, and the Commissioner of Canada Elections, both of whom are testifying today.
The questions are aimed mainly at revealing the many loopholes in Canadian federal election, donation and spending, lobbying and ethics laws, and the lack of independent, effective enforcement of those laws.
The loopholes in the laws make secret, unethical foreign interference and misinformation activities legal, so no watchdog is even monitoring the activities, which makes it impossible to determine the extent of interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections, or before or after those elections up to now, or to stop the interference.
Almost all the watchdogs who are supposed to enforce the few effective rules that exist are chosen in secret by the ruling party Cabinet, many of them serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister or Cabinet ministers, most don’t do inspections or audits, most are not required to issue public rulings on every allegation they investigate, and in many cases there are no penalties for violating the laws.
As a result, their enforcement is weak and ineffective and does little to discourage violations.
“A foreign-agent registry will not be enough to stop foreign interference in Canadian politics, especially if it is full of loopholes,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch. “Last year the lobbying commissioner gutted ethical lobbying rules, and MPs added a loophole to their ethics code so foreign-sponsored lobby groups can sponsor intern spies in their offices. Those changes, combined with the existing loopholes and flaws in Canada’s election, political donation and spending, lobbying and ethics laws, make it even easier than it was in the past for foreign governments, businesses and organizations to influence Canadian politics and politicians in secret, including by making false claims on social media sites.”
“All our key democracy laws, including laws that claim to be aimed at stopping foreign interference, are enforced by weak lapdogs who are handpicked by the ruling party Cabinet, and they operate largely in secret and lack powers and accountability for doing their jobs properly,” said Conacher.
Click here to see the Backgrounder that summarizes all the loopholes and weak enforcement problems that make foreign interference legal and easy to do.
Click here to see summary list of 17 key changes to stop foreign interference.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
Tel: (613) 241-5179
Cell: 416-546-3443
Email: [email protected]
Democracy Watch’s Stop Foreign Interference in Canadian Politics Campaign, Stop Secret, Unethical Lobbying Campaign, Government Ethics Campaign, Money in Politics Campaign, Honesty in Politics Campaign, and Stop Fake Online Election Ads Campaign