Authoritarian regimes do not stop at committing human rights violations in their home countries; many of them reach beyond their borders and continue to oppress diaspora communities. Many also engage in attacks against institutions. This is a threat to Canadians and to Canada.
There are a variety of methods of transnational repression and foreign interference. Following our review of the relevant literature and interviews with witnesses and victims, we find that acts of transnational repression in Canada and/or against Canadians comprise direct attacks, long distance threats, mobility controls, and coopting other countries. Further, there are reported incidents relating to interference with government institutions, media, academia, and the business sector.
Canada is legally obligated to protect its people, and there are legal frameworks and mechanisms available to Canada at the international and domestic levels to combat incidents of transnational repression and foreign interference. Despite this, the Canadian government has yet to sufficiently respond. Following an in-depth review of the problem, and of the relevant legal frameworks and mechanisms, we propose thirty-seven (37) recommendations for the Government of Canada to combat foreign interference and transnational repression.
These recommendations were developed in collaboration with, and with the endorsement of, many of Canada’s leading diaspora community organizations, including those representing Uyghurs, Tibetans, Tamils, Tigrayans, Cubans, Turkish people, Eritreans, and victims of genocide:
Create a dedicated agency
Create a Commissioner of Foreign Influence
Create a dedicated hotline or reporting mechanism
Define ‘transnational repression’ and ‘foreign interference’
Review and update the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act
Review and update the Security of Information Act
Review and update the Lobbying Act
Review and update the Canada Elections Act
Create a civil cause of action specific to transnational repression
Criminalize refugee espionage
Criminalize online harassment and digital violence
Develop clear public policy guiding Attorney General consent:
Bar perpetrators
Implement a Foreign Agents Registry
Review Canada’s terrorist lists
Monitor and track incidents of transnational repression
Form explicit partnerships between government agencies
Provide physical protection services to victims
Provide psychological support services to victims
Create a specialized victims of transnational repression fund
Build community resilience
Train law enforcement officers
Train campus security officers
Implement additional safeguards for asylum seekers
Engage in increased multilateralism
Learn from our allies
Close foreign states’ police stations in Canada
Publicly speak out against transnational repression
Update travel advisories
Implement targeted sanctions
Request that INTERPOL amend its rules
Limit mutual legal assistance with repressive regimes under the Convention on Cooperation in International Crimes
Terminate the Treaty Between Canada and the People’s Republic of China on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
Encourage the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on Transnational Repression
Encourage the creation of a specific treaty on transnational repression
Implement Human Rights Watch’s 12-point Code of Conduct for universities and colleges
Sanction and/or ban surveillance companies complicit in transnational repression
