Thank you for your question. I'm going to answer it in English in order to be very precise.
Bill C-76 closes one of the loopholes that was still existing for foreign interference. It was already illegal for foreign entities to interfere in a Canadian election, but there was a loophole if you spent under $500. Five hundred dollars actually can get you a lot of Facebook ads in some markets. It would close that loophole. That's a very important measure.
How much does it cost to send mass WhatsApp messages or to advertise on Xbox? I don't know the answer to that. Those are emerging uses. Perhaps my colleagues have a sense on numbers. It's not clear how that affects other platforms, but certainly in terms of Facebook or Twitter advertising I think that helps.
I think the information is that third parties are playing an increasing role. There was a much larger number of third parties in the last federal election than there had been in previous elections. I think it's reasonable to expect that to continue. Third parties are basically only heavily regulated in terms of their spending during the election campaign, which is a relatively short period. Obviously you can try to influence voters before the official campaign starts, something that political parties have obviously realized, but also third parties.
I have been an advocate in my academic work for implementing pre-writ...so before the official election campaign rules, some of which are in Bill C-76. The spending limits would apply to what's called “partisan advertising” in the pre-writ period. I really welcome that. I actually think the pre-writ period should be longer. I said that to your colleagues at the procedure committee.
But we have a permanent campaign. Third parties have figured that out. There are other jurisdictions that take an even more aggressive.... Should there be disclosure of advertising by third parties in the full year leading up to the fixed election date? Should there be spending limits? I think there's a really good argument that there should be.