44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 30, 2023 10:00AM
- May/30/23 5:23:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is always great to rise in this most honourable institution, in the House, and speak to a very important issue today, the New Democratic Party's opposition motion.
I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for London West. I look forward to hearing her remarks as well.
Everyone knows that Canada is recognized internationally for the strength and stability of its democratic system and institutions. In addition, the majority of Canadians say they are satisfied with how our democracy works. It goes without saying that we have good reason to be proud of the trust Canadians have in their institutions.
Indeed, as the independent special rapporteur on foreign interference reminded us in the very first line of the report released last week, democracy is built on trust. Truer words have never been spoken. Naturally, it is this principle that guides how the government interacts with Canadians, develops policies and sets up programs not only to maintain the state of our democracy, but also to continually improve it.
Nevertheless, we can all agree that democracy is a work in progress requiring our constant attention and that it is under constantly evolving threat. That is why we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. We want to better protect and preserve the trust that Canadians have placed in us, which is why we are continually developing new measures to protect our democratic institutions and respond to emerging issues that seek to weaken them.
One of these measures is the plan to protect Canadian democracy that the Government of Canada implemented ahead of the 2019 federal election and renewed in the lead-up to the 2021 election. I would like to point out that this plan is the first of its kind globally. It comprises a range of initiatives designed to improve and strengthen Canada's democratic institutions and protect them from threats.
One thing is clear: When Canadians have access to reliable information and are better informed about the tactics employed by foreign and malicious actors, they become our best line of defence in our efforts to safeguard democracy and fight foreign interference. This is one of the fundamental premises of our plan to protect Canadian democracy, and it is why the plan's initiatives include enhancing citizen preparedness through measures such as the critical election incident public protocol.
The protocol is a mechanism for senior public servants to communicate clearly, transparently, and impartially with Canadians during an election in the event of an incident or a series of incidents that threaten the election's integrity. This is one example of an information-sharing success story. The protocol serves as a bridge between the expert panel, which is composed of independent, professional senior government officials, and the national security agencies represented on the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force.
As we know, during the last two federal elections, the expert panel did not detect any incidents that might have threatened Canada's ability to have free and fair elections. I would like to reiterate that this does not mean that there were no attempts at foreign interference or incidents of foreign interference. In fact, the experts made it clear that there is always a certain level of foreign interference. What it actually means is that Canadians can be certain that the outcome of these elections was determined by them and them alone. As the independent special rapporteur points out, there is therefore no call to doubt the results.
In addition, several independent assessments have demonstrated the usefulness of this protocol, and that includes the assessments of the implementation of the protocol that were carried out after the 2019 and 2021 general elections. Both assessments assured Canadians that the protocol should remain in place. They also suggested areas for improvement, which we take very seriously.
For example, significant updates were made to the protocol following the 2019 election report. The government is currently reviewing all the recommendations published last February following the 2019 elections. Members will recall that this is what the government committed to in its April 6 report aimed at providing an update on the recommendations for preventing foreign interference in our democratic institutions.
More recently, the independent special rapporteur also said that the mechanisms that protected the 2019 and 2021 elections were sophisticated. It seems quite clear to us that the protocol is one of these mechanisms. He also affirmed that the measures taken to date have countered the threats of foreign interference and minimized their impact on Canadian democracy.
These independent assessments have given Canadians the assurance that these measures help protect our elections from all types of threats. That is why we relied on these measures to protect the byelections currently taking place in four ridings across the country from any form of foreign interference. On May 16, the government announced that the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force would increase its monitoring of foreign interference threats during the current byelection period.
Our efforts do not stop there. The government recognizes that Canadians want more information about threats to our democratic institutions. Accordingly, after election day, the task force will produce a report that will include its assessment of any foreign interference it detects during the byelections.
As I am sure my colleagues will agree, these measures address the needs and priorities of Canadians. They also reflect our vision. Just because Canada's democracy is one of the strongest and most stable in the world, it does not mean we should not always strive to do better. That is what Canadians expect and what they deserve.
My intervention today focused on certain elements of the plan to protect Canadian democracy. It goes without saying that these are just a few of the measures implemented by the government to protect our democratic institutions from all types of threats. However, I hope to have clearly demonstrated the government's commitment to strengthening Canada's democracy, responding to Canadians' concerns and continuing our efforts in that regard.
The independent special rapporteur submitted his report to us last week. He pointed out improvements made to information sharing. The government has implemented measures to help address this issue and is working to create others. By the end of October, we will receive his second report, which will include a set of recommendations primarily aimed at ensuring that malicious foreign states cannot jeopardize our democratic institutions.
As I mentioned, members will understand that the government is looking forward to the release of this independent report. I am convinced that the strategic recommendations in that report will enable us to continue to improve how we protect our democracy.
I invite Canadians who wish to be heard to participate in the public hearings that will be held soon by the special rapporteur. Finally, in closing—
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- May/30/23 5:34:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for North Island—Powell River for bringing forward this opposition motion. It is obviously important and needs to be debated.
In this situation, in relation to the question that was asked, I would point to former Supreme Court justice Iacobucci. He is very esteemed and held in high regard, and was actually appointed by, I believe, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney a few decades ago. He has led a number of inquiries and has done much work for the federal government. He is someone I hold in an esteemed position. I am glad that he was contacted to provide a letter to say there was no conflict, and we will go with that.
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- May/30/23 5:36:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member from British Columbia for the question. It is a very sincere and substantive question.
As I have said in the House repeatedly, I am for a foreign agent registry. That avenue needs to be pursued and is being pursued vigorously by the Minister of Public Safety. I think we need to put that in place with the proper guardrails and due diligence. I also believe that we have committees, NSICOP and NSIRA, that do good work. One of those committees has members of Parliament on it.
We do have institutions in place. We must always maintain confidence in our electoral institutions and in our democracy. We will continue to do so. No matter which government is in power, that must be a priority.
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- May/30/23 5:37:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. It is a very important issue for me. I understand what he is saying.
We as a government put in place a special independent rapporteur, someone who is very distinguished. The independent rapporteur did deliver a report and there is a second report to follow.
At the same time, we as a government must act. We must put in place a foreign agent registry with the proper guardrails, as I stated in my prior answer. We do have committees, NSICOP and NSIRA, that are doing good work, and a number of other initiatives are going forward. We must be sure that Canadians have confidence and trust in their democracy.
We know that the 2019 and 2021 elections were not impacted by foreign interference, as has been ruled in reports. They stated that the outcome was fair and that the outcome was decided only by Canadians.
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