Thanks, Madam Chair.
I've listened very quietly and patiently to all of the arguments being made. I appreciate all of the comments of everyone on the committee. From my perspective, any foreign interference in our elections is of concern. That's why all members on this side supported the original motion to study foreign interference in our elections in the first place. We feel it's important.
I agree with Mr. Fergus, though I don't see the fire in the need for Standing Order 106(4) considering we were already engaged in a study on this topic. It could have easily been extended through a good faith discussion, as we've done before. I'm not sure what precipitated this particular meeting or the need for an extra meeting, which obviously disrupts other committee schedules.
Regardless, I would like to make a few comments related to some of the arguments that I've heard, because I feel I need to correct a few things. Based on testimony that we heard—I wasn't at the meeting, but I read the notes—Mr. Marcus Kolga said:
In 2014, those accounts—
He was referring to the Russian government's Twitter accounts.
—were actively doing the same. They were attacking the Harper government on various issues. They are agnostic with regard to any sort of political party. They will sink their fangs into the left and the right, and they will tug on any specific issue until it tears us apart. This is what they do.
It doesn't matter who's in government, whether it's the Conservatives one day, the Liberals the next, the NDP another day, or perhaps the Bloc one day.
He also said that all of the parties, even when they're in opposition, are subject to these types of attacks. It's important for us to recognize that all of the parties, no matter which party is in government, are equally vulnerable to foreign interference. I think that's important.
I would also quote from a November 7 Global News article. Mr. Cooper, unfortunately, spoke only about Conservative candidates being targeted in that article. It reads, “The briefings did not identify the 2019 candidates. But the alleged election interference network included members from both the Liberal and Conservative parties, according to sources with knowledge of the briefs.” I think it's important for us to put that on the record as well.