Canada needs to do more to protect diaspora populations from foreign pressure, inquiry hears

The Canadian government needs to do more to protect diaspora communities from transnational repression, representatives of several organizations told the inquiry into foreign interference Wednesday.

While their proposed solutions vary widely, the groups said some foreign governments are targeting members of diasporas in Canada through harassment, surveillance, spreading disinformation and online threats.

The inquiry was told that diaspora communities are often the first victims of interference by foreign governments. A number of representatives also recommended that Canada tighten up its immigration screening to prevent foreign operatives from getting into the country by misrepresenting their backgrounds.

Gloria Fung, former president of Canada-Hong Kong Link and an advocate for a foreign agent registry, said the Chinese government poses a major threat to national security and has infiltrated all levels of government in Canada. 

"Canada is one of the most covertly infiltrated of all liberal democracies," Fung told the inquiry.

Fung said that by targeting Canada, China can access sensitive American information. Canada also has technology and natural resources that China needs, she added.

Fund recommended several measures, including appointing an independent commissioner to monitor foreign interference, amending Canada's laws to cover transnational repression and having Elections Canada provide policy and protocol guidelines for riding nomination and party leadership contests with respect to verifying Canadian citizenship, membership fees and party donations.

For Canada's Sikh community, the question of foreign interference goes well beyond elections and disinformation, said Moninder Singh of the B.C Gurdwaras Council.

"For us it is now a matter of life and death," he said, pointing to the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In September 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament there were credible allegations of a potential link between Nijjar's death and Indian government agencies. 

Singh told the inquiry that he and other Sikh leaders have been warned by Canadian officials that their lives were in danger and called for more protection for members of the Sikh community. He called for an inquiry into the Indian government's involvement in Nijjar's death and said Ottawa must end information exchanges with India. 

Russian-Canadian Svetlana Koshkareva, a supporter of Ukraine, warned that Russia has been engaging in cognitive warfare in Canada for years, amplifying propaganda through social media and influencers to sow social divisions and erode trust. She called for an institution to respond to cognitive warfare and said Canada should push for removal of online posts in real time, and for repeat offenders to be banned from platforms.

Tamil community activist Katpana Nagendra said the Sri Lankan government conducts surveillance on Tamil human rights activists in Canada, threatens them and labels them terrorists. She called on the Canadian government to take steps to address what the Sri Lankan government is doing.

Earlier in the day, a Canadian academic testifying before the public inquiry on foreign interference Wednesday described the spotlight on foreign interference in universities as "modern day witch-hunting."

The Chinese-Canadian university professor, granted anonymity by the inquiry, said Chinese-Canadian professors are under suspicion and new research security policies have make it harder to collaborate with Chinese scholars.

This year, she said, 17 of 20 Chinese researchers who were to come to a workshop in Canada couldn't get visas.

"Hunting for spies in universities is close to modern day witch-hunting," she said, adding that Canadian universities are losing top talent and top performers feel unwelcome.

Foreign interference and racial tensions

Teresa Woo-Paw, chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and a former provincial cabinet minister in Alberta, said reports of foreign interference in Canadian elections are also driving a rise in anti-Asian racism.

She said they're prompting Chinese Canadians to stop donating to political parties because they fear they will be seen as interfering. While some have aspirations to serve in public office, she said, many feel now is not the time.

The foreign interference inquiry, headed by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, was set up following media reports which accused China of interfering in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

In her initial report, made public in May, Hogue found that while it was possible that foreign interference occurred in a small number of ridings, she concluded it did not affect the overall election results.

The inquiry continues Thursday with witnesses from the RCMP, CSIS and members of the panel charged with alerting Canadians of significant attempts at election interference.