OTTAWA — The only publicly listed filing in Canada’s new foreign-influence registry connected to a Chinese principal has reappeared after weeks offline—but in significantly revised form, with its payment disclosure amount removed and additional information linking editor Aidan Jonah to several of the outlet’s social-media channels.
Meanwhile, only three registrations are publicly displayed after a troubled launch.
During recent parliamentary testimony, Conservative MP Michael Cooper cited a Public Safety Canada estimate that the registry’s information-technology system would cost $29.41 million, called the registry “in shambles” and demanded that Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree appear before a parliamentary committee to explain its failures.
The restored filing identifies The Canada Files Media as the registrant and CGTN Français as its foreign principal. It says the Ontario-based media company entered an arrangement to publish sponsored content intended “to have more Canadians be supportive of China’s management of its domestic political affairs.”
The restored filing differs from the official Canada.ca record preserved by The Bureau before it disappeared on September 15.
The archived version reported that The Canada Files received 4,000 Chinese yuan—approximately $823—for an arrangement with CGTN Français running from August 5 to August 13.
The restored filing states only that compensation was provided and classifies the payment as an “honorarium.”
The restored record identifies The Canada Files’ X and YouTube accounts, its website and Substack newsletter. It also names “Aidan Jonah” as the username associated with a Telegram channel and lists “Aidan Jonah (personal profile)” as a Facebook account.
Blacklock’s Reporter, a parliamentary news service, also reported on the registration on October 13 under the headline “China Backed Anti-Israel Site.”
The Canada Files describes itself as a “proudly socialist, anti-imperialist news organization” established to investigate Canadian foreign policy and the military-industrial complex.
Its publication history includes repeated criticism of Israel and organizations that combat antisemitism.
The outlet has also defended Laith Marouf, formerly a senior consultant to the Community Media Advocacy Centre, which received federal anti-racism funding before Canadian Heritage suspended the project over statements the department described as antisemitic and racist.
In a 2022 article headlined “Ottawa cancels funding for anti-racist conferences under pressure from Zionist lobby,” The Canada Files said Marouf had used “strong and emotional language” against Israel’s occupation of Palestine. It argued that accusations of antisemitism distorted his anti-Zionist statements and reported that the cancellation followed pressure from pro-Israel organizations.
Canadian Heritage’s own records offered a different assessment. An official departmental briefing note said Marouf’s “antisemitic statements and other racial slurs” were unacceptable.
The department had approved $133,822 for the organization’s project, titled “Building an Anti-Racism Strategy for Canadian Broadcasting.”
“Mr. Marouf and the Community Media Advisory Centre should never have been approved for funding through the Anti-Racism Action Program,” Canadian Heritage’s subsequent briefing note says. “Their funding has been cut and their project suspended.”
The Canada Files later disclosed that Jonah and Marouf co-hosted a regular program titled “Canada and Palestine: The War on Zionism.”
An August 2024 promotion for its twelfth episode advertised discussion of “Palestinian resistance,” Yahya Sinwar’s appointment as Hamas political bureau chief and the targeting of pro-Palestine campus encampment protests.
