IM-Herman_2023_1011.pub

Justice Hogue’s mandate also includes assessing the capacity of federal departments and agencies to counter foreign interference in the future and to make recommendations on “any means for better protecting federal democratic processes from foreign interference that the Commissioner may consider appropriate.” This is a fairly general point, not obliging the Commissioner to recommend action in any. [...] But nothing in the Hogue inquiry’s mandate prevents the federal government acting now in one particularly critical area – the creation of a foreign agents registry. [...] Action by the feds in this area would be separate and distinct from the points under examination in the inquiry. [...] The Americans have had the Foreign A gents Registration A c t since 1938 “to promote transparency with respect to foreign influence within the United States by ensuring that the United States government and the public know the source of certain information from foreign agents intended to influence American public opinion, policy, and laws, thereby facilitating informed evaluation of that informati. [...] The Brits have had their Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) since 2021, requiring registration of any arrangements with foreign powers to carry out political influence activities in the UK, “encouraging transparency, while simultaneously deterring foreign powers that wish to pursue their aims covertly,” described as a measure that “strengthens the resilience of the UK political system ag.