Procedure and House Affairs committee  Jeremy could probably speak better to 2019. When you think about 2021 and that election campaign, as all of you as elected members would know, each community votes on issues of concern to their own community. That said, I would say that primarily in the GTA and Vancouver areas, banning assault weapons and having responsible gun laws in the country were of primary concern to these communities.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As the conversation has matured, which is maybe the right description of it.... The first time I thought about it, I thought about this uniquely in a cybersecurity setting, because that's what was garnering headlines around the world or the conversation that's going on around the world and how that's being changed.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  For the Liberal Party of Canada, the way the process works is that, up until the point at which a candidate is endorsed to Elections Canada—because once you're endorsed to Elections Canada, it's only you, the candidate, who can remove yourself from the ballot, as per the rules set out in the Canada Elections Act—the green light committee has the ability to revoke somebody's approval, but it would be the campaign chair who would have the authority to remove a candidate.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's an interesting question. It would be hard for me to confirm or deny anything that happened in the briefing without sharing that more broadly, but I would say that my interactions with the security establishment has only led to a further appreciation of the work they do and the challenging environment they operate in, because, as you can imagine, it's not easy work for them.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Without going into what is probably very sensitive details of our cybersecurity, I would say as a general matter that it is something that's reviewed on a regular basis with cybersecurity experts. We often bring in people with experience in breaches and leaks to talk with us as to what the best practices are.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I appreciate your appreciating our work. Could you just clarify the question?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm guessing that it's in regard to the briefing that we received in 2021. The matters that were brought to the committee or to me were taken back to the campaign office, and then I discussed them with two senior campaign staff.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Assuming it is a briefing, that briefing would come in under the secret information regime, so we would probably not be at liberty to discuss it with a candidate or their campaign team, because they wouldn't have the proper clearance. We would only be able to discuss it with the people who have the appropriate clearance and the appropriate considerations, and as Jeremy discussed, we'd bring the leader up to speed as quickly as we could.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, that's it. The process changed in 2019 or 2021, I think. I don't remember the exact date. Elections Canada now allows parties to use its system and send the nominees they endorse electronically.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would add that it all depends on the information you have and how you get it, and then you use your best judgment. I'd say that internally, I think most campaign workers—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. Obviously, foreign interference is always on the radar for a party's national director, regardless of whether it's the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party or any other. Monitoring doesn't focus exclusively on foreign political interference. In fact, the same system would be in place to protect Canada against cyberattacks and other threats.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don't understand—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  During the national election campaign period, questions and information come from everywhere. Sometimes, it comes from a volunteer—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We don't question our nominees about that. As for all our teams, in a certain way, that's far removed from the national campaign, but we are—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  To be accepted into the Liberal Party of Canada and be greenlighted to represent it, nominees have to go through a rather exhaustive process. They have to fill out a form that includes a lot of questions on their life, what they've done, the universities they went to and what led them to want to join the Liberal Party, among other things.