Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, commissioner of the general public inquiry into overseas interference, issued her remaining report on Tuesday after conducting a 16-month investigation into how overseas actors have tried to intrude in democratic establishments and the electoral course of within the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
In her seven-volume report, Hogue detailed the proof she gathered from listening to greater than 150 witnesses for the reason that Inquiry started in September 2023.
These findings reveal what she thinks are the best menace to Canadian democracy, how federal get together management contests ought to be reformed and the challenges related to deciphering intelligence.
She additionally particulars why get together leaders must get safety briefings and the way cumbersome info sharing inside authorities difficult efforts to reply to overseas interference makes an attempt.
The ‘single largest threat’ to Canadian democracy
Hogue wrote that whereas overseas states concentrating on parliamentarians has garnered a lot consideration, the higher menace to Canadian democracy is the unfold of misinformation and disinformation within the media and on social networks.
She wrote disinformation “is noxious, and it’s highly effective. It poses a serious threat to Canadian democracy. If we don’t discover methods of addressing it, misinformation and disinformation have the flexibility to distort our discourse, change our views and form our society.
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“For my part it’s no exaggeration to say that at this juncture, info manipulation (whether or not overseas or not) poses the one largest threat to our democracy,” she wrote. “It’s an existential menace.”
In her report, Hogue wrote that the act of “transnational repression,” when a overseas state displays, intimidates and harasses immigrant communities in Canada to realize its personal nationwide aims, has grow to be a “real scourge” to the democratic course of in Canada.
Whereas her mandate didn’t activity her with analyzing the complete depth and lengthen of transnational repression, she stated she realized sufficient through the public hearings to “sound the alarm that the federal government should take this significantly and think about methods to deal with it.”
“It might be difficult to overstate its seriousness, or the influence it has on people and our social cloth,” she wrote, including that the concentrating on of immigrant communities by overseas states is “one of many biggest strategic challenges to Canada’s sovereignty and democracy.
She stated the federal authorities is making efforts on this space.
The issue with the NSICOP report
In June, the Nationwide Safety and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, NSICOP, launched a report that stated some elected officers in Canada had been “semi-wittingly” or “wittingly” serving to overseas governments intrude in Canada’s democratic course of.
After the report was revealed, there have been widespread requires MPs who had learn the report back to determine the names of officers suspected for working to advance the pursuits of overseas governments.
Hogue reviewed the NSICOP report and stated that whereas it “doesn’t identify particular person parliamentarians” it does make “strongly worded and unequivocally acknowledged allegations towards particular person parliamentarians,” primarily based on intelligence paperwork.
The report warns that whereas “intelligence could be extraordinarily useful in informing authorities and enabling it to develop coverage … the frailties of intelligence make it harmful to depend on” unquestioned.
“That is significantly true for intelligence that will counsel misconduct by people, such because the involvement of particular person parliamentarians in overseas interference actions,” the report stated.
Hogue wrote the NSICOP report forged a “cloud of suspicion over all parliamentarians” and consequently contributed to “the erosion of Canadians’ belief of their democratic establishments.”
“The state of affairs is just not as clear lower, nor as excessive, because the fears provoked by the NSICOP report,” Hogue wrote.
Shortcomings with info sharing
Hogue wrote that whereas there have been no “specific points with the way in which through which info flowed” to senior decision-makers within the run as much as, and within the weeks after, the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, there have been nonetheless “shortcomings.”
“Data that ought to have reached the ministers and even the prime minister didn’t,” Hogue stated, including that she couldn’t decide why this occurred.
“The proof did present, nonetheless, that the techniques in place on the time weren’t significantly sturdy,” she added. “There was no manner of realizing who had acquired a specific report, whether or not those that had acquired it had learn it and whether or not any actions had been taken consequently.”
WATCH | Hogue factors to ‘imperfect’ communication: 
Hogue says authorities has been ‘a poor communicator’ on overseas interference
Whereas releasing her remaining report Tuesday, Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue says the federal government ‘sometimes took too long to act’ and that communication with different decision-makers ‘proved imperfect.’
Hogue wrote that in some instances she was left with the impression that individuals concerned in sharing details about doable situations of overseas interference felt “they’d fulfilled their duties as quickly as they’d delivered the data, with out in any other case ensuring that it had been acquired and understood.”
The commissioner wrote that she had no indication that “anybody acted in unhealthy religion.” Hogue wrote that the problems had been systemic in nature and had been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hogue additionally wrote that whereas “the intelligence supply system has been fully redesigned,” for the reason that 2019 and 2021 federal elections, she has not “been in a position to put this new system to the check to see how efficient and resilient it’s, however the proof means that it’s rather more appropriate than the earlier one.”
Occasion leaders and safety clearance
Amongst her record of suggestions to fight overseas interference, Hogue says in her report that “leaders of all political events represented within the Home of Commons ought to be inspired and given the chance to acquire top-secret safety clearances as quickly as doable after they grow to be leaders.”
Hogue stated in her remaining report that whereas the leaders of the Liberals, NDP, Bloc Québécois and the Inexperienced Occasion now have top-secret clearance, Conservative Chief Pierre Poilievre declined to get his, though his chief of employees has obtained clearance.
She stated that whereas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has directed the Canadian Safety Intelligence Service, CSIS, and different officers to attempt to inform Poilievre of doable threats to his get together and its members, conserving the Conservative chief correctly knowledgeable “could also be difficult” except he will get top-secret clearance.
“The prime minister testified that chiefs of employees have extra restricted authorities in comparison with get together leaders and aren’t accountable to the general public in the identical manner,” the report stated.
Poilievre maintains that receiving the safety clearance would depart him unable to converse overtly or problem the Liberal authorities.
“In contrast to others who’re keen to restrict their capacity to carry the federal government accountable on essential problems with nationwide safety, Mr. Poilievre is not going to be gagged and unable to talk or act on info he could obtain,” a Poilievre spokesman stated Tuesday.
Reforming get together management races
Hogue supplied an inventory of 51 suggestions for a way the federal government can handle issues of overseas interference, a few of which require legislative adjustments and others which may very well be carried out earlier than the subsequent federal election.
Amongst her suggestions that she urges motion on instantly, are reforms to the way in which get together leaders are chosen in Canada, together with:
Ensuring folks casting votes in a management election or nomination races are Canadian residents and everlasting residents.
Requiring political events to acquire a declaration from their members relating to their standing as Canadian residents or everlasting residents.
Making use of the Canada Elections Act to management races always, not simply throughout elections.
Requiring events and electoral districts to file their guidelines for nominations and management contests with Elections Canada.
Requiring all nomination and management contestants to file a monetary return with Elections Canada.
