Gentlemen, I have been listening to you from the beginning, and I sincerely doubt the usefulness of the working group. An election campaign lasts just over 30 days. Since the threshold you mention must be met, it is virtually impossible for this group to notify people that an ongoing election campaign is the target of foreign interference. This process is only intended to roundly postpone decisions that need to be made immediately.
And yet, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has been clear. Here is what it said in July 2021:[...] foreign state actors are engaged in interference activities directed at Canadian democratic institutions and processes. These activities are effective. They are ongoing and some are escalating. They are carried out by foreign states to achieve immediate, medium and long-term strategic objectives. They pose serious threats to Canada's national security, prosperity and strategic interests, its social fabric, and the people within it [...] Given the current geopolitical situation, these activities will almost certainly increase.
We have learned from the newspapers about the illegal financing of an underground network of potential candidates, the presence of fake volunteers in election campaigns, the existence of a campaign orchestrated by the Chinese regime to promote the re‑election of a Liberal government and defeat Conservative candidates, and the conduct of a massive disinformation campaign by the Chinese regime in some ridings, all of which may have led to the defeat of some Conservative candidates.
Despite all this, you tell us that absolutely nothing is happening and that there has been no increase in threats of foreign interference. What is it going to take for the threshold to be reached? Does it take President Xi Jinping making a recorded statement saying that any Canadian who does not vote Liberal will face the wrath of the Chinese communist regime? What is the threshold? What is the limit?
We're having trouble following you.