MEDIA RELEASE: Statement calling on federal government to drop its developer bailout in BC

Two years and one general election later, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says the long-awaited foreign influence registry is “weeks” away from being operational. Yet, as his department is confident it is “very close to the finish line” after repeated missed deadlines and delays, critics say combatting foreign interference and transnational repression is “clearly not a priority” for the current Liberal government.   

During a press conference in the West Block foyer on June 17, NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.), her party’s public safety and national security critic, also criticized Anandasangaree for repeatedly failing to deliver on his previously promised timelines.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan says continued delays are signaling it is ‘open season’ in Canada for malign foreign actors. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Kwan said Prime Minister Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) has “dropped the ball,” but that “Canadians are still subject to foreign interference attacks” from countries like China, Russia, and India, and, in the case of the upcoming referendum on Alberta separatism, from the United States, as well. 

In an interview with CBC’s The House in early May, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director Dan Rogers said that the referendum “is rife for amplification or for the sort of disinformation or foreign interference that we’ve seen from players like Russia in the past.”

A May 6 report authored by DisinfoWatch, the Canadian Digital Media Research Network, and CASiLabs also warned that Russian and pro-Trump U.S. actors are amplifying and spreading disinformation to “normalize” Alberta separatism, “amplify distrust, portray Canada as internally divided and politically unstable, and create uncertainty that could deter international investment.”

“This cannot be acceptable,” Kwan said, adding that, to protect Canada’s sovereignty, “our democratic institutions and our democratic rights need to be protected from foreign interference actors.”

In a follow-up interview, Kwan said that despite the concerns raised by CSIS and diaspora communities under direct threat from transnational repression and interference, she believes that Carney has been “slow walking” the registry.

Now, she said, alongside her suspicion that the delay is intended to avoid upsetting trade negotiations with China or India, she has to question whether the same considerations are being applied to the Americans.

Whatever the reason for the delay, Kwan said the excuses have not diminished the threats Canadians or the country’s democratic institutions face, but are instead sending “a clear message to foreign interference actors that Canada is open season.”

“Alberta’s voter list has already been compromised,” Kwan said. “Is that not serious enough for the Carney government to take this seriously and get a move on?”

“This was the will of the previous Parliament, and Carney talked about how important this is during the campaign, but afterwards, he’s forgotten all about it,” Kwan said. “It clearly is not a priority.”

In response to questions from The Hill Times, Anandasangaree’s office said the final regulations “should be gazetted soon,” and that the registry “will be up and running later this summer.”

*Click image or link to read the full news story - https://www.hilltimes.com/2026/06/23/critics-say-liberals-slow-walking-foreign-influence-registry-leaves-canada-vulnerable-ahead-of-referendum/508941/?utm_source=The+Hill+Times&utm_campaign=f9702a0d0c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_06_22_07_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_251d35861a-f9702a0d0c-94024765&mc_cid=f9702a0d0c&mc_eid=4520aaba21

Public funds should guarantee affordable homes for people—not guaranteed returns for developers and speculators.  

Today, I sent an open letter to federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson and provincial Housing Minister Christine Boyle urging them to immediately reconsider recent housing policies that bail out private developers at the expense of everyday British Columbians.  

The federal government’s new "Condo Conversion" program plans to allocate billions of taxpayer dollars to buy up or convert unsold, investor-oriented condominium inventory. Meanwhile, local governments are being pressured to slash development fees and community amenity contributions.  

When the housing market was booming, developers pocketed massive private profits. Now that the speculative market is cooling, taxpayers are being asked to shoulder their financial risks. This is fundamentally unfair and completely misses the mark.  

The central problem in Metro Vancouver isn’t a shortage of high-end market condos—thousands of units are sitting empty and unabsorbed. The problem is a severe shortage of homes that working families, renters, seniors, and young people can actually afford.  

Imagine what we could achieve if those billions were invested directly into constructing and acquiring permanently affordable public, co-operative, Indigenous, and non-profit housing. Furthermore, the federal government needs to step up as a true partner to British Columbia by providing ongoing operating subsidies for affordable housing projects—the Province cannot be expected to carry this load alone.  

*Click [ Read more ] to read my open letter to the federal and BC Housing Minister.

Liberals are dismissing the privacy concerns surrounding the government’s lawful access bill as “tinfoil hat” and “paranoid” conspiracy theories, even after amending the controversial legislation to address some of those issues.

The House of Commons passed Bill C-22 on Thursday before breaking for the summer, a day after approving a motion to fast-track the bill and end debate at the public safety committee, which was then forced to approve it just before midnight without debating dozens of outstanding amendments.

The amended bill will now head to the Senate.

The legislation would give law enforcement the ability to get access to digital information more quickly and easily for investigations under a judicial warrant.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who represented her party during the committee’s study, also criticized the process and said the amended bill “did not fix the central problem: Canadians are still being asked to trust broad surveillance powers, secret orders, and future regulations that Parliament itself has never fully examined.”

“Canadians deserve legislation that protects both public safety and fundamental rights,” Kwan said in a statement Thursday.

“Instead, the government chose to curtail committee debate while dozens of amendments remained under consideration. The centralizing approach of the Carney government continues.”

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://globalnews.ca/news/11911957/lawful-access-bill-passes-privacy-liberals-tinfoil-hat/