The Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions (The Commission) may end up being the single-most important democracy-orienting event of the 22nd century. The Commission intends to conduct a thorough assessment of interference by China, Russia and other foreign states or non-state actors, as they relate to the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. It will be no easy task for The Commission, but it is one that I was able to cover first-hand as an accredited member of the media.
The first phase will focus on the foreign interference that may have had an impact on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. The Commission is also examining the flow of information within the federal government in relation to these issues and evaluating the actions taken in response. The second phase will focus on examining the capacity of the various federal structures and governance processes to permit the Government of Canada to detect, deter and counter such interference.
The first five days of public hearings.
The first five days of public hearings included different government stakeholders including Ministers, federal department and agency heads, and other national security experts who were questioned by lawyer’s representing different federal political parties, and the hearings set out some clear expectations. There were discussions about how ethnic Canadians may get targeted both in Canada and abroad, and details around current processes.
There was also discussion around the important role that “citizen understanding” and “diaspora communities” play in the grand scheme of protecting democratic institutions. However, there was no mention as to whether public safety stakeholders were prepared to name any other hostile states and how they may be trying to influence smaller-sized diaspora communities, which may lead these communities to wrongly believe that they are not at risk and make them even more vulnerable. But highlighting something like the top ten hostile states and sharing the different approaches that are being taking to gain control over ethnic Canadians, both in Canada and abroad, may be worth exploring.
One outcome from the first five days of public hearings that may have come as the biggest surprise had to do with an acknowledgement that members of our National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, the highest security committee in Canada, not necessarily being required to have intensive background checks to sit on the Committee. It was suggested that just an “oath” to secrecy might be good enough.
In a perfect world, an oath to secrecy would be enough, but recent events that have played out have shown that even individuals with the highest background clearances have compromised Canada’s national security by sharing secrets. However, will someone slip up and say something they are not supposed to because their party does not win an election, or because they think it is necessary? These are the deep cut questions that promise to keep the highest levels of government up all night, because nothing is guaranteed anymore.
Thinking beyond the public inquiry and outside of our borders.
When Canada conducts public inquiries into different issues, the world takes note. The manner in which we conduct public inquiries is principled; we go after issues that other places would rather avoid, and we do it better than anyone. The Charbonneau Commission and the Cullen Commission are two examples of public inquiry outcomes that other countries leveraged as a template to strengthen their own democracies, including the likes of Australia. Although other countries are not leading with public inquiries to the extent that we happen to be, what is happening elsewhere still has ramifications for Canada.
The FBI may be the premiere police force in the world, but politicians in the U.S. have suggested that it may be time to abolish them. It has been suggested that it may be necessary to lay off 75% of FBI personnel and to move around the left-over officers to other three letter agencies like the DEA and HSI. As a result, Canada may have to further prioritize policing at the federal level, to make up for any uncertainty created if the FBI does cease to exist. Because the foiled plot that both the FBI and RCMP had worked together on to prevent an attack on an American by two Canadians connected to organized crime groups is bound to get harder.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it was unimaginable that ongoing military operations captured via satellite footage would get shared publicly and in real-time. Somehow it happened when U.S. President Joseph Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan came out sharing satellite footage of Russian military pile ups on the border of Eastern Ukraine, and that an invasion was imminent. That decision changed how the entire world viewed the war. Might a similar approach be required to get ahead of any potential interference related to our democratic institutions and avoid the harming different diaspora communities?
The stakes are high.
Major media publications have reported on some of the foreign interference and how other countries have attempted to subvert the integrity of our institutions and gain influence among government officials. Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted that national security far worse than Canadians can imagine, and the more that is learned the more that statement becomes true. Current B.C. Premier David Eby also made a similar comment about transnational crime and the varying degrees to which different sectors in the British Columbia were affected. And the above mentioned FBI and RCMP joint action found the funding for the attack by the two Canadians coming from overseas.
At the same time, the language being used between elected officials and by some national heroes towards different levels of government has normalized using words like “corrupt” and “sell out”. For the first time ever, our immigrant roots and ethnic identities have started to get weaponized between us, questioning the commitment that elected representatives have to our country and to us. Nor does it help that there is a global recession and so much near-violence or outright violence on the other side of the ocean that has the potential to become so much worse. Such conflicts have the potential to create friction between different ethnic groups across Canada solely based on their ethnic connection to those places. It is a recipe for trouble.
Regardless of how anyone feels about any single political party or any single politician, each and every one of them deserve to be insulated from exposure to the different harms that come as a result of the role they play in determining our country’s trajectory, and to have the opportunity to attain our country’s highest office. And be free from foreign interference, domestic interference, and complex crimes.
