I take part in a lot of briefings when I'm in Ottawa, which are secret in nature. There are also briefings on the road—I'm often required to travel—or sometimes when I'm travelling with the Prime Minister. On those occasions also, there is someone who can provide information.
These briefings can be on any topic related to international affairs, what's going on elsewhere in the world. My goal as foreign minister is to know what's going on in the world to be able to conduct our diplomacy to defend our interests and protect our values. I don't need to explain that to you, of course.
In Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, we recognize that we need to increase our understanding of China, which is clearly lacking. That's why we're investing $2.3 billion to increase our presence in the region and expand our capabilities.
We did recognize that we needed to do more with respect to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to manage foreign interference issues. That's why we invested $88 million to hire more staff.
I want to tell you that this is a challenge that the United States, the Europeans, and many countries around the world are finding out more about. I've had conversations recently with my colleague, the Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, to understand more about this, because Australia has had to deal with these issues in the past.