44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 4, 2023 10:00AM
- May/4/23 10:54:57 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to go back to what I was saying. I think we all recognize on this side of the House the concerns Canadians have. I want to reassure them that our government is taking these concerns very seriously. We are taking the proactive measures that are required to thwart outside meddling in our institutions and in our democracy, and we are going to safeguard our democratic institutions.
We take seriously the introduction of new policies and powers within the national security community, but we also work within the legal requirements and constraints we have. The legal requirements that will allow us to implement them, as well as the transparent systems that will allow for accountability, must be carefully considered.
It is important that we are respectful when having these discussions across the country. We need a national picture. We need to understand the impact on communities and on individuals, and it is important for all of us in this House to show Canadians that we can put partisanship aside to deal with the very serious issues before us.
I want to thank all members of this House who have taken the time to share their serious concerns and points of view on this conversation so that we can move forward together.
It is also important for us in this House to take a moment to thank our security and law enforcement agencies, which count among them great Canadians who are working on the front lines in our communities, at our borders and online in the cybersphere to keep us safe. They work tirelessly to keep us safe and to keep our democracy safe, and respect for the work they do is critical. There are experts in the field who are working hard to ensure we have the best possible recommendations on the path forward.
Regardless of our political stripe, election interference, foreign interference, is something we must take seriously. To turn this into a partisan cudgel to try to score political points does Canada no service and does our democracy no service. All it does is seek to validate what foreign actors seek to do. They seek to sow discontent, to disrupt, and to cause confusion. The antics in this House and the comments that have been made are an indication that they are succeeding. On this side of the House, we will not let them succeed, because we believe the work that needs to be done is often done quietly and with seriousness of purpose.
As a former public servant who had the privilege of serving this country in the Department of Public Safety and working with CSIS, the RCMP and our border agencies, I can tell members that our public servants take this work extremely seriously. They take this work as their life's work and they do not compromise when it comes to the safety of Canadians.
The type of work we need is work that is done quietly and in the service of this country and that keeps us safe. It is not comments and catcalls, criticism of fact or making things up that gets us to a safer democracy. What gets us to a safer democracy is showing Canadians that every single member of this House respects our democracy, respects its institutions, respects the way in which our Constitution governs us, but most importantly, respects the quiet work of our public service in keeping us safe and making sure those things work in tandem.
Our job as parliamentarians is to reflect the best of this country. Our job is to make sure Canadians see in us people who are prepared to protect their democracy and preserve it. I am confident that on this side of the House this is the work we are going to do. We invite every single parliamentarian in this House to cast partisanship aside and work together in this regard.
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- May/4/23 11:40:47 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his fine speech.
I would like to take this opportunity to express solidarity with my neighbour from Wellington—Halton Hills. He is my friend and a good member who embodies all that is best about the House.
My colleague raised the issue of blame. He wonders who, in the circumstances, is to blame.
I would like to say that the conversation we are having today relates to the safety and security of all Canadians. Our goal is not to find someone to blame, but to come up with a good way to reassure all Canadians moving forward about the safety and security of our country.
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- May/4/23 2:26:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure my colleague. We share the concerns of the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, which is why we offered him a briefing.
We will continue to offer him support, as well as all members who work in the House, to protect our democratic institutions.
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- May/4/23 4:32:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, before I begin, I just want to make a quick remark to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. Obviously every member of Parliament, every person who has the privilege of representing their constituents and who was elected here to come do the good work that Canadians expect, is in solidarity with him. Of course, what is transpiring or has transpired is unacceptable.
I will be splitting my time with the member for Scarborough—Guildwood, a very learned and honourable member. It is a pleasure to split my time with him. I always look forward to his remarks, but he will have to listen to my remarks first.
Foreign interference is a matter of crucial importance. No country is immune to the threat of foreign interference. A country like Canada, which invests in democracy and is proud of the integrity of its electoral system, is liable to be considered an attractive target by bad actors, including individuals, organizations and even foreign governments, that may attempt to create tension or arouse suspicion about our government and our institutions.
However, I want to reassure Canadians. Our security and intelligence organizations keep close tabs on these threats and advise us on how to keep our citizens safe. We are continuously working on strengthening our safeguards.
The Government of Canada is always looking for new and innovative ways to improve the robust measures we have implemented to fight foreign interference. We look to the experience of our international partners to see what can and should be done in Canada. Accordingly, on March 6, 2023, the Prime Minister announced new measures to fight interference. I would like to go over some of those initiatives.
First is the creation of a new national counter foreign interference coordinator in Public Safety Canada to coordinate efforts to combat foreign interference.
Second are the applications for review by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, or NSICP, and by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, or NSIRA, on the state of foreign interference in Canada's federal electoral process and the way our national security organizations have reacted to this threat.
Third is the development of a plan to follow up on the outstanding recommendations by the NSICP, the Rosenberg report and other reviews on these matters. The report entitled “Countering an evolving threat: Update on recommendations to counter foreign interference in Canada’s democratic institutions”, was presented on April 6.
Finally, there is the $5.5-million investment to strengthen the capacity of civil society partners to prevent disinformation, promote democratic resilience and raise public awareness about foreign interference.
The Prime Minister also said that Public Safety Canada would launch public consultations. These consultations would help guide the creation of a foreign influence transparency registry in Canada to ensure transparency and accountability from people who advocate on behalf of a foreign government and that communities who are often targeted by attempts at foreign interference are protected.
The Minister of Public Safety launched those consultations on March 10, 2023. They will continue until May 9, 2023. The Government of Canada has also invested significantly in our ability to fight foreign interference.
The Government of Canada has also significantly in our ability to fight foreign interference. Budget 2023 allocates $13.5 million, starting in 2023-24, and $3.1 million ongoing to Public Safety Canada to establish a national counter-foreign interference office. Budget 2023 also allocates $48.9 million to the RCMP to protect Canadians from harassment and intimidation by foreign actors, increase its investigative capacity, and more proactively engage with communities at greater risk of being targeted.
These investments build on budget 2022, in which the government committed to providing $13.4 million to renew and expand the G7 rapid response mechanisms over five years in order to counter foreign threats to democracy.
What is more, $12.9 million will be invested to establish a research security centre of excellence at Public Safety Canada in order to protect Canadian research while strengthening the security posture of universities and research institutions.
These major investments will help build the Government of Canada's capacity and strengthen its ongoing efforts to fight foreign interference. As I said, we announced the launch of public consultations to guide the creation of a foreign influence transparency registry in Canada. Although protecting our country is the top priority, we also have to make sure we protect communities that are often targeted by attempts at foreign interference. These consultations with key stakeholders and the Canadian public will inform the path forward, including new measures to strengthen national security.
In addition to these consultations, the government is always working to ensure that our democratic institutions are protected from malign foreign influence. For example, before the 2021 federal election, we implemented the critical election incident public protocol, a mechanism to notify the public of a threat to the integrity of a general election. We also renewed the G7 rapid response mechanism to strengthen and share best international practices to address foreign threats to democracy in G7 countries.
Ahead of the 2019 election, we created the security and intelligence threats to elections task force. This task force coordinates the sharing of intelligence and information among the Communications Security Establishment, Global Affairs Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. During the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, CSIS and the RCMP worked in close collaboration with task force members on coordinating efforts to fight foreign interference by raising awareness, assessing threats and preparing a government response to these threats. The task force remains active outside election periods as well, in light of persisting threats to democratic institutions, including foreign interference and disinformation.
However, protecting our institutions goes even farther. We are fortunate to be able to rely on the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. It investigates threats, advises the government and takes every measure necessary to mitigate threats to our national security. This includes threats from foreign actors.
I look forward to questions and comments.
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