国会议员关慧贞声明：加拿大《外国干涉法》的实施未能达到预期效果

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加拿大面临着前所未有的、日益严重的外国干涉威胁。霍格委员会(Hogue Commission)已认定中国和印度是针对加拿大民主制度最具侵略性和最老练的外国干涉行为体。然而，卡尼政府非但没有采取紧急应对措施，反而拖延不决。

《外国影响透明度和问责法》（简称“该法”）在各党派的合作下于 2024 年加快通过，但迄今为止，仍未设立外国影响透明度专员或有效的监督机构来执行该立法。  

加拿大人被要求信任一个尚未存在的体系。按照法律规定，任命外国影响力透明专员一事，各政党领袖仍未得到充分协商。自由党政府非常清楚，若不任命专员，就无人负责执行和落实法律。这种持续拖延不仅损害了霍格委员会的调查结果，也进一步危及了加拿大民主。

同样令人担忧的是，政府提出的法规并未完全符合该法案本身的意图。议会明确规定：该法案不仅适用于联邦官员，也适用于其他层级政府的官员，包括省政府和市政府的官员。然而，这些法规对此却只字未提。自由党现在表示，其他层级政府的官员“最终”也会被纳入其中，但并未给出具体时间表。  

此外，该法规并未明确界定何为“安排”。这种模糊性不仅对合法的公民参与造成了寒蝉效应，同时也为不法分子提供了暗中活动的余地。加拿大人不禁猜测合法的公民参与是否会受到惩罚——而老练的犯罪分子则可能利用这种模糊性。在代理活动中，这种模糊性尤其危险。

这些规定也未能要求个人披露其与公司或组织的关联或隶属关系。在当今影响力环境下——外国政府通过中间人和非正式网络开展活动——假设影响力总是直接的，这是一种故意视而不见，也缺乏基本的形势认知。

此外，尽管侯格委员会的证人曾指出，与外国资助机构或媒体有关联的个人需要进行登记，但卡尼政府至今仍未落实这一问题。缺乏适当的信息披露，使加拿大民众蒙在鼓里，这只会削弱公众对体制的信任和问责。

卡尼政府选择实施一项软弱无力、不全面的框架——既没有专员，又缺乏清晰度，覆盖范围也不够广泛。罚款金额甚至低至50美元。这些政治决策传递出一个危险的信号：联邦政府并未认真对待打击外国干涉问题，也并非将其列为优先事项。

外国干涉对加拿大构成真实且持续的威胁，尤其是在加拿大正努力拓展国际贸易关系之际。加拿大目前的立法应对措施过于软弱、含糊不清且反应迟缓，无法及时发挥作用，起到有效的威慑作用，这是不可接受的。

如果加拿大真心想要保护其民主，就必须立即采取行动：立即任命专员，正面应对代理干预问题，并使相关法规与《民主法》完全一致。民主不能靠半吊子的措施来保护。外国干预是真实存在的。加拿大人理应立即获得行动和透明度。

2026年1月12日  温哥华东区议员 关慧贞

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STATEMENT BY MP JENNY KWAN:  Implementation of Canada's Foreign Interference Law Misses the Mark

Canada has faced an unprecedented and growing threat from foreign interference. The Hogue Commission has identified China and India as the most aggressive and sophisticated foreign interference actors targeting Canada’s democratic institutions. Instead of responding with urgency, the Carney government is dragging their feet.

The passage of the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act (the “Act”) was expedited with the cooperation across all parties lines in 2024, yet to date, there is still no Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner or functioning oversight body to implement the legislation.  

Canadians are asked to trust a system that does not yet exist. Political party leaders still have not been properly consulted with the appointment of the Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner as required by law.  The Liberal government knows very well that without the appointment, there is no one to administer and enforce the law.  This continuing delay undermines the Hogue Commission’s findings and further puts Canadian democracy at risk.

Equally troubling is the fact that the government’s proposed regulations do not fully comply with the intention of the Act itself. Parliament was explicit: the Act was meant to apply not only to federal officials, but also to office holders from other orders of government including provincial and municipal governments. Yet the regulations are silent on this point. The Liberals now says other orders of government will “eventually” be included with no timeline.  

In addition, the regulation does not provide clarity on what would constitute an “arrangement”.   This ambiguity creates a chilling effect for legitimate civic engagement while simultaneously giving bad actors room to operate in the shadows.  Canadians are left guessing whether legitimate civic engagement will be penalized — while sophisticated actors are likely to exploit this ambiguity.  This vagueness becomes especially dangerous when it comes to proxy activity.

The regulations also fail to require individuals to disclose their associations or affiliations with the corporation or organization. In a modern influence environment — where foreign states operate through intermediaries and informal networks, assuming that influence is always direct is willful blindness and does not show a basic standard of situational awareness.

Furthermore, the Carney government has failed to put in place registration requirements for individuals linked to foreign-funded institutions or media outlets even though this was a concern identified by witnesses during the Houge Commission. Without proper disclosure, Canadians are left in the dark which only serves to undermine confidence and accountability in the system.

The Carney administration has chosen to enact a  weak, partial framework — without a Commissioner, without clarity, and without full coverage. Fines as low as $50. These political decisions send a dangerous message that tackling foreign interference is not taken seriously and not a priority for the Federal government.

Foreign interference is a real and ongoing threat to Canada particularly at a time when Canada is opening up trade relationships internationally. It is not acceptable that Canada’s current legislative response is too weak, too vague, and too slow to meet the moment and act as a legitimate deterrent.

If Canada is serious about protecting its democracy, it must act now: appoint the Commissioner immediately, address proxy interference head-on and bring the regulations into full alignment with the Act.  Democracy cannot be protected with half-measures. Foreign interference is real.  Canadians deserve action and transparency immediately.