Correct Answer: how wide a foreign influence registry should be
Passage Reference: A good law would protect those communities without treating them as suspects.
Why this is correct: The columnist supports a registry but wants one that protects diaspora communities without treating them as suspects. Each speaker offers a view on how wide it should be.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, read the first sentence and the word “scalpel”. Every speaker then argues about how far the duty should go.
Why the other options are wrong:
- whether diplomats should lose their legal protections: Diplomats come up only because Teague would exempt them. Nobody wants to remove their protections.
- how community choirs can find new members: The choir is the columnist’s example of ordinary activity. Finding members is never discussed.
- why cultural festivals are losing their volunteers: Festivals come up in Elsworth’s warning about grants, but nobody says they are losing volunteers.
Correct Answer: Kira Teague
Passage Reference: She would exempt diplomats, but she opposes writing broad exemptions for community groups into the law in advance.
Why this is correct: Kira Teague would exempt diplomats, which is accepting some exemptions. But she opposes writing broad exemptions for community groups into the law in advance.
Tips: Find every speaker who talks about who should be left out of the law. Then compare how far each one would go.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Milo Nolan: Milo Nolan narrows the duty itself to paid efforts for a named foreign government. He does not talk about exemptions set in advance.
- Roan Elsworth: Roan Elsworth warns that a vague law will frighten people, so he does not resist protection for community groups.
- Bea Anstey: Bea Anstey wants a guide and private, binding answers. She says nothing about which exemptions to allow.
Correct Answer: a drop in festival grant applications since the draft appeared
Passage Reference: Some members already hesitate to apply for festival grants or sign human-rights petitions
Why this is correct: Elsworth says a vague law will frighten people into silence and that some members already hesitate to apply for festival grants. A drop in grant applications since the draft appeared would back him.
Tips: Find what Elsworth says some members already hesitate to do. Pick the evidence that shows that fear in real numbers.
Why the other options are wrong:
- evidence of covert payments to local candidates: Covert payments would support Teague’s case for a wide duty, which is the opposite of Elsworth’s concern.
- a survey of MPs who want penalties raised: MPs wanting higher penalties would back Teague’s wide duty, not Elsworth’s warning that people are already staying silent.
- a court ruling that upheld a similar law: A court ruling for a similar law would help the registry’s defenders. It would not show that speech is already being chilled.
Correct Answer: groups would get a binding answer within thirty days
Passage Reference: any group can ask privately whether it must register and receive a binding answer within thirty days
Why this is correct: Anstey supports the registry only if any group can ask privately whether it must register. The group must also receive a binding answer within thirty days.
Tips: Look for “only if” in Anstey’s last sentence and read it to the end. Match the whole condition, not a single word such as “register”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every group would register before each public event: Anstey wants groups to be able to ask whether they must register at all, not to register before every event.
- each group’s question would be published online: Anstey says groups should be able to ask privately, so their questions would not be published.
- the elections office would run the registry: Anstey is a former elections official, but the office running the registry in the column is Nolan’s independent office.
Correct Answer: supportive, if the rules are narrow and clear
Passage Reference: Transparency works when it is precise
Why this is correct: The writer says “I support a foreign influence registry”. But the writer wants Nolan’s narrow design with Anstey’s guide, because “Transparency works when it is precise.”
Tips: For an attitude question, read the first sentence and the “scalpel” idea. Then check the sentence about transparency near the end.
Why the other options are wrong:
- opposed to any registry at all: The columnist opens with “I support a foreign influence registry,” so the columnist is not opposed to one.
- in favour of the widest possible net: The writer warns that the broad draft could catch a community choir, so a wide net is what the writer rejects.
- undecided until the courts rule: Courts are never mentioned, and the columnist clearly chooses Nolan’s design.
Correct Answer: groups from countries with hostile governments
Passage Reference: would land on groups from countries whose governments are hostile to Canada
Why this is correct: Elsworth, the network coordinator, warns that the heaviest stigma would land on groups from countries whose governments are hostile to Canada.
Tips: The comment calls him “the network coordinator”, so find Elsworth’s lines. Look for the words “heaviest stigma”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- groups that take money from abroad: Elsworth says the groups most at risk raise all their money here, so they do not take money from abroad.
- newcomers who are still learning English: Elsworth never mentions language. His warning is about groups from countries with hostile governments.
- people who work at foreign embassies: Embassy staff come up only as diplomats whom Teague would exempt. They are not the people Elsworth worries about.
Correct Answer: paid by a named foreign government to sway politics
Passage Reference: The duty would cover only people who are paid to sway MPs, parties or election campaigns, and only when the one paying is a named foreign government or its agent.
Why this is correct: Nolan’s duty would cover only people paid to sway MPs, parties or campaigns. And it applies only when a named foreign government or its agent is paying.
Tips: The comment calls him “the professor”, so find Nolan’s lines. Notice the two “only” parts of his rule.
Why the other options are wrong:
- unpaid volunteers at a local cultural festival: Nolan’s rule covers only paid efforts, so unpaid festival volunteers would be outside it.
- people who openly criticize a foreign government: Criticizing a government is not being paid by it. Elsworth mentions such critics as people who should not be stigmatized.
- relatives of people who live in other countries: Relatives living in other countries are Elsworth’s example of family ties that should not count. Nolan’s rule turns on payment.
Correct Answer: figures on who registered, was investigated or was cleared
Passage Reference: report every year how many people signed up, how many were investigated and how many were cleared
Why this is correct: Nolan’s independent office would report every year how many people signed up, how many were investigated and how many were cleared.
Tips: Find the words “report every year” in Nolan’s lines. The right choice lists what the report would count.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the names of everyone who asked for advice: Asking for advice is Anstey’s idea, and she wants it done privately, so names would not be published.
- a list of each group under investigation: Nolan’s office would report how many people were investigated, which is a number, not a list of groups.
- reports on how much embassies spend in Canada: Embassy spending is never mentioned. The yearly report counts registrations, investigations and people cleared.
Correct Answer: a plain-language guide full of examples
Passage Reference: She wants a plain-language public guide full of examples
Why this is correct: Anstey, the former elections official, wants a plain-language public guide full of examples.
Tips: The comment calls her “the former elections official”, so find Anstey’s lines. Look at the first thing she wants, which helps people understand the law.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a yearly report on every investigation: Yearly reports come from Nolan’s oversight office, not from Anstey.
- a printed list of registered groups: Anstey never asks for a list of groups. She wants a guide that explains the law.
- a manual written for security officers: Anstey’s guide is for the public, so that people understand the law, not for security officers.
Correct Answer: city grant for a spring concert
Passage Reference: the most political thing it does is apply for a city grant for its spring concert
Why this is correct: Look at the first paragraph. The most political thing the mother’s choir does is apply for a city grant for its spring concert.
Tips: The comment talks about “your mother’s choir”, so go back to the first paragraph. Read what the choir does that is “most political”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- trips to sing at embassy dinners: The choir never sings at embassies. Its most political act is a grant application.
- fund drive for a political party: The choir raises no money for parties. Its most political act is applying for a city grant.
- petition about a foreign election: Petitions come up in Elsworth’s part of the column, not in the story of the choir.
