Thank you, Madam Chair. [Technical difficulties—Editor] some good recommendations that I believe this committee could make and that the government can take from this meeting as well.
I also want to thank the witness for the input that he provided to create the cybersecurity centre. Brampton, the city I'm from, has been able to benefit from some of the funding that was in that budget, as well, by having a cybersecurity training centre, which I think we need more of.
Some of the issues that keep me up at night are these very issues. Having been on this committee for many years now, I know that how we protect our democratic institutions and our democratic process, and how misinformation, disinformation and all of these things are affecting the way we act and react in our country, has really changed and affected things.
I was also very touched by comments that you had made at the justice committee in 2019. You said:
I'm deeply concerned about my country right now, its politics and where it's headed. I worry about foreign interference in the upcoming election, and we're working hard on that. I worry about the rising tide of incitements to violence when people use terms like “treason” and “traitor” in open discourse. Those are the words that lead to assassination. I'm worried that somebody is going to be shot in this country this year during the political campaign.
It's been over four years since you made those comments. Do you feel things have improved, or have they actually gotten worse?