Parliamentary Committee Notes: The Independent Special Rapporteur
PROC
Date: May 26, 2023
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch / Agency: NCSB
Proposed Response:
- Democratic institutions and processes around the world, including elections, are valuable targets for foreign interference. Canada is not immune to these threat activities.
- We are aware that threat actors, have sought to clandestinely target politicians, political parties, electoral nomination processes and media outlets to influence public opinion and ultimately advance their geopolitical interests.
- For this reason, the Government of Canada has undertaken a number of proactive measures in recent years to counter this pervasive threat. This includes efforts to protect our 2019 and 2021 elections.
- Most recently, the Prime Minister appointed the Right Honourable David Johnson as an Independent Special Rapporteur on Foreign Interference to provide public recommendations on the effectiveness of Canada's approach.
- Mr. Johnston's First Report, issued on 23 May, reaffirmed the effectiveness of Canada's approach and found that the elections of 2019 and 2021 were well-protected by sophisticated mechanisms.
- That said, Mr. Johnston noted in his report that more is required to address modern threats and we look forward to the results of his work over the coming months.
- Through a combination of all these efforts, trust and confidence of Canadians in our democratic institutions will strengthen.
If Pressed on Intelligence Dissemination:
- Last week, Minister Mendicino issued a Ministerial Directive to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service on national security threats directed at Parliament and parliamentarians.
- This new Ministerial Direction reinforces the government's expectation that these threats are to be given the priority they deserve, that parliamentarians are to be informed of these threats to the extent possible, and that the Minister of Public Safety will always be kept fully informed of these threats and of CSIS' actions in response to these national security threats.
If Pressed on the lack of recommendation for a Public Inquiry:
- As the ISR's report correctly stated, a Public Inquiry examining the leaked materials cannot be undertaken fully in public given the sensitivity of the intelligence. Thus, the Government supports the ISR's recommendation of charting a path forward through public hearings.
- These public hearings to be held by the ISR will touch on policy and governance issues and will engage Canadians.
Background:
On March 6, the Prime Minister announced the intent to appoint an Independent Special Rapporteur as part of a suite of measures aimed at taking further action to combat foreign interference. Other measures announced by the Prime Minister also included:
- Launching public consultations to guide the creation of a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry in Canada to ensure transparency and accountability from people who advocate on behalf of a foreign government and ensure communities who are often targeted by attempts at foreign interference are protected.
- Establishing a new National Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator in Public Safety Canada to coordinate efforts to combat foreign interference.
- Developing a plan to address outstanding recommendations from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, the independent assessment of the Protocol (Rosenberg Report), and other reviews on these matters, within the next 30 days.
- Investing $5.5 million to strengthen the capacity of civil society partners to counter disinformation.
Further to this announcement, the Government of Canada announced the appointment of the Right Honourable David Johnston as the Independent Special Rapporteur on March 15, 2023. Mr. Johnston has a wide mandate to look into foreign interference in the last two elections and make expert recommendations on how to further protect Canada's electoral process and democratic institutions.
The Independent Special Rapporteur's First Report was released on May 23 and found that while foreign governments are undoubtedly attempting to influence candidates and voters in Canada, the Government of Canada has undertaken a number of efforts to counter the evolving foreign interference threats. Specifically, Mr. Johnston noted that the elections of 2019 and 2021 were well-protected by sophisticated mechanisms, and that there is no basis to lack confidence in their results. Mr. Johnston ruled out a public inquiry given the sensitivity of the intelligence, but committed to holding public hearings on governance and policy issues in the second phase of his mandate. Mr. Johnston is expected to publish his final report by the end of October 2023.
Contacts:
Prepared by: NCSB
Approved by: Patrick Boucher, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, 613-990-4976
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