The Globe and Mail recently covered a bill in the Senate that if passed would create a foreign lobbyist register. Here is Bill 237, An Act to establish the Foreign Influence Registry and to amend the Criminal Code.
Here are some thoughts on the bill:
- This is responding to a legitimate problem of certain hostile foreign governments inappropriately trying to influence policy and other matters in Canada. There would be a schedule that lists those countries so presumably, it would not be all foreign governments that provide some funding to Canadian charities.
- Would probably be better – instead of creating a new bureaucracy rather tack this on with the regular lobbyist registry and system or exempt registered charities as I discuss below.
- I have a small concern that there are already three different types of systems that apply to political activities and Canadian registered charities – namely the Income Tax Act, the lobbyist registration systems at the Federal, provincial and sometimes municipal level, and around the time of elections often third-party election advertising rules. It is quite complicated and adding a 4th type of regulation will just make it even more complicated.
An argument could be made that registered charities should be exempted from the lobbying rules and third-party election advertising rules and instead that information should just be provided on the T3010. This would make it much simpler for registered charities. It is also far more likely that charities will complete the information if it is in one place. Unfortunately, all questions relating to public policy dialogue and development activities (what used to be non-partisan political activities connected with your purposes) have now been removed from the T3010. So, Canadians have very little visibility as to what political activities Canadian charities are conducting. Sort of similar to the US. This makes it easy for high subsidized dark money to have an impact on our political landscape. Can you imagine how that will turn out?