Hon. Raymonde Saint-Germain: Minister, I want to get back to the topic of cybersecurity. You said that the government has deployed a number of measures, and that was affirmed in the unanimous report that the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians issued in February. However, the committee also noted that such threats to democracy are intrusive and pervasive, and that the most sophisticated threats come from state actors. There is the potential that Russia could take retaliatory action in response to the sanctions that Canada implemented because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In light of that information, are you looking at taking further action to detect attacks and enhance security to better protect the sensitive information the Government of Canada has on Canadians, businesses, and energy and environmental development strategies?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Senator, first, thank you for asking that question because it allows me to emphasize to you and to all members of this chamber that we are operating in an environment of heightened threats to our national security, including when it comes to foreign interference.

I would urge you, all of your colleagues in this chamber and indeed all Canadians, to be very much “eyes wide open” about what those threats are and how they have created a more complicated environment. We need to be sure that we are providing all of the tools and resources necessary to our national security apparatus so that we can mitigate those threats.

I also want to provide you with my assurance that all of the agencies that operate within my portfolio, as well as other portfolios, are on it. We’re very alive to these concerns. We need to be sure that we’re vigilant about mitigating those threats, and we need to do this work together.

Our commitment is to work with you and all parliamentarians to make sure we protect our national security.