Thank you.
It's not for me, of course, to tell the committee how you should frame your investigations. What I can say is that for me this is a serious issue that I believe demands a serious investigation. As much as is possible, the committee should determine who is behind these threats.
The committee should examine how MPs can protect themselves from these types of Internet threats and how the House of Commons can better protect members. I would encourage the House of Commons to take this type of threat very seriously
I read with interest the comments of the Clerk, indicating that this study may be a “giant waste of time”. Those were her words. I couldn't disagree more. In terms of its impact on the democratic process, studying this issue is not a waste of time. I couldn't disagree more. Whether or not the committee is ultimately successful in drawing any conclusions on who's behind this attack, I think the House should be examining preventive or safeguard measures to protect members.
This is an issue that crosses party and ideological lines. Just this past weekend, we saw an Internet attack on the electronic voting system used to choose the new leader of the NDP. In my opinion, it is a very frightening prospect, especially as Canadians are looking more and more to Internet voting and Internet advances, to see our democracy being threatened when we attempt to use new mechanisms that will involve more people in the democratic process. I think all Canadians should be concerned by these types of threats posed to our democracy by these online bullies and thugs who, in fact, are intimidating the democratic process.