ottawa –
The federal government is considering new ways to inform the public about possible developments in foreign interference during the election period, a senior official told a committee Thursday.
Under the current system, a panel of five top officials would issue a public warning if it determined that an incident, or series of incidents, threatened Canada’s ability to hold free and fair elections.
There were no such announcements regarding the 2019 or 2021 general elections.
Allen Sutherland, Assistant Cabinet Secretary for Government and Democratic Institutions, said the standard for issuing public notices was intentionally set high because “intruding into the election arena” could hinder the campaign. said.
Mr Sutherland told the inquiry on Thursday that one way forward is to maintain appropriately high thresholds, but take a clearer communication approach in the case of lower threshold incidents.
He said authorities were considering how to communicate with the public about developments that were not up to current standards.
That could help inform people that they need to know more, even if the incident doesn’t rise to the level of threatening the overall integrity of the election.
Ms Sutherland said her advisers had discussed the issue with Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc and would continue to do so.
He said officials believed that government interference in elections “could escalate the situation” by drawing attention to the actions of foreign actors, and that repeated interference “could signal that something was wrong.” “This may lead to the feeling that this is the case.”
But he stressed that the situation has evolved in recent years due to increased awareness of foreign interference, and Canadians need to be better informed.
“So what governments are trying to do is evolve their approach as society changes and threats evolve.”
Following allegations of foreign interference in the past two general elections, calls for a public investigation have increased, and are currently underway.
During his appearance at the inquiry in April, Mr Sutherland said a five-member committee considered warning the public about possible foreign interference in the last general election, but ultimately decided against it. said.
This decision was made in part because a potential misinformation campaign would likely only reach the Chinese diaspora, he said.
The committee is made up of the Clerk of the Privy Council, the National Security Adviser, the Deputy Attorney General, and the Deputy Ministers of Public Security and Foreign Affairs.
Ms Sutherland said on Thursday that expanding the panel to include non-government representatives was being considered and a final decision would be taken by Cabinet.
But he praised the current make-up, saying: “We have a truly unique group of senior civil servants, each of whom brings to the table the important competencies needed to exercise the nuanced judgment expected of the committee.” “I am here,” he said.
The panel receives information from sources such as the Task Force on Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections; The task force includes representatives from the Canadian Security Intelligence Agency, the RCMP, the Canadian Department of International Affairs, and Canada’s cyber-espionage agency, the Communications Security Agency.
Mr Sutherland said an element of the federal government’s approach was to “not simply rely on the government” to identify potential cases of foreign interference, and that civil society groups, the media and political parties were key. He pointed out that it plays a role.
The five-person panel was briefed earlier this year by the Canadian Digital Media Research Network, which monitors information incidents that could mislead the public.
Charlene Curtis Micallef, deputy justice minister and member of the five-person committee, told the inquiry on Thursday that listening to civil society was “an important part of a multifaceted approach to dealing with foreign interference in this country.” “It’s part of that,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
