CBC: NDP MP, Beijing critics call on Ottawa to launch foreign agent registry quickly

NDP MP Jenny Kwan and vocal critics of China are calling on the federal government to swiftly introduce — and on Parliament to quickly pass — foreign agent registry legislation to safeguard the next federal election.

In a new petition, Kwan and a coalition of human rights and pro-democracy groups are urging the House of Commons to pass the yet-to-be introduced legislation as soon as possible.

Under intense scrutiny over its handling of alleged Beijing-backed interference operations in the last two federal elections, the Liberal government launched public consultations on a proposed foreign agent registry in March.

A government source told CBC News in March that a bill will be tabled in the House of Commons later this year.

"This should have been done yesterday," Kwan told CBC News. "If we head into the next election without some safeguards and measures in place, then it is us, Canadians, who will actually suffer.

"The government has to be dragged kicking and screaming to the table to try and get this work done."

Click this link to read the news story in full:-

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-mp-petition-foreign-agent-registry-canada-1.6938319

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City TV NEWS: Rally outside Vancouver college protests sudden termination of key English program

Dozens of students and instructors gathered at Vancouver Community College (VCC) Tuesday to protest the unexpected shutdown of the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program.

LINC, which has helped thousands of immigrants learn English, secure jobs, and work toward citizenship, is set to be terminated at the end of March due to federal funding cuts.

The move has left over 800 students without a clear path forward and more than 30 instructors without jobs.

“We found out just before winter break, and this was the first opportunity to get people together to raise spirits, because people have been really down.” said Frank Cosco, president of the VCC Faculty Association.

Toronto Star NEWS: ‘An ordeal that doesn’t end’: Lost Canadians’ citizenship at risk with Parliament suspended

If Ottawa lets the deadline lapse and the two-generation cut-off is thus voided, affected lost Canadians could just come reclaim their citizenship. If the court cuts the government some slack and grants another extension in light of the circumstances, the uncertainty will continue.

“During that extension period, we could very well be in an election, in which case, no bills could be passed,” said MP Jenny Kwan, immigration critic of the opposition NDP, and a staunch supporter of the bill.

Media Statement: In Response to the Hong Kong Government’s Issuance of a Wanted List for Overseas Pro-Democracy Activists

I call on the Canadian government to take urgent and decisive action to:

1. Strongly condemn the Hong Kong government’s NSL and the targeting of overseas activists, including Canadian citizens and residents, and call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Hong Kong.

2. Impose targeted sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials responsible for human rights violations and the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms.

3. Stop according any special rights or diplomatic status to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade offices in Canada.

4. Expedite the processing of PR application for Hong Kongers fleeing political persecution and to automatically renew their work and study permit in the meantime.