SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Caucus Chair

Alistair MacGregor

  • Member of Parliament
  • Caucus Chair
  • NDP
  • Cowichan—Malahat—Langford
  • British Columbia
  • Voting Attendance: 62%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $140,733.69

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 330 - Jun/12/24
Mr. Alistair MacGregor
  • Jun/12/24 5:23:14 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, for part 1, part 2 and part 3, the coming-into-force provisions would be 60 days after the bill receives royal assent, which is a fairly reasonable timeline. What I think my colleague is alluding to is part 4, for which the coming into force would really be left up to a date determined by Governor in Council. If we do want to have a registry set up and operational, that, I would submit, is where time is of the essence. Public safety officials were not able to comment specifically on what kind of time frame they would need, but I think they understand from the questioning they received from members of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security that we treat the registry with seriousness and that we have high expectations of that. Again, I hope the other place, the Senate, understands the urgency and passes the bill so it can land on the Governor General's desk in short order.
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Context: House Hansard - 330 - Jun/12/24
Mr. Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, NDP)
  • Jun/12/24 4:54:01 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, in part 4 of the bill, which sets up the public registry, one of the key features of the registry is that it is country agnostic. In other words, Canadians would be able to see how all countries' foreign principals are trying to exert influence in Canada, and not only our adversaries, but also our friends and allies. Can my hon. colleague comment on that feature of the registry, the fact that it is country agnostic, and how that lends itself to accountability and transparency for Canadians to see?
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Context: House Hansard - 328 - Jun/10/24
Mr. Alistair MacGregor
  • Jun/10/24 1:49:59 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, indeed, we certainly have heard those concerns not only in briefings, but also in witness testimony. The National Council of Canadian Muslims has certainly raised concerns with respect to parts 1, 2 and 3 of the bill. It is very happy with the registry. We were put in this uncomfortable position because we waited so long for the legislation to arrive in the House of Commons. As the NSICOP report mentions in its conclusion, there are a litany of scathing conclusions against the Liberal government for the delays that have put us in this precarious position. Certainly, and I think I can speak for other committee members, we felt a bit rushed last week, but I believe we gave the bill a thorough vetting in the time we did have. I am looking forward to commencing clause-by-clause this Monday afternoon, and at report stage hopefully this Wednesday. However, these upgrades to the CSIS Act, the SOIA and the Canada Evidence Act in setting up a new registry are incredibly important legislative tools, not only to create a registry but to go after the clandestine operations that we know are happening all too well with respect to foreign interference in Canada.
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