Putting on my research hat, I would ask the committee how often you think foreign intimidation, influence, surveillance or interference happens in Canada. Can you point to how many cases there are?
We had a report, “In Plain Sight”, that we submitted previously to the CACN committee with recommendations. One of them was a public commission on foreign influence. We wanted to collect data on foreign influence and allow for a public reporting mechanism. This is a way we can allow for diaspora communities, who have been facing the brunt of foreign influence and intimidation, to have a reporting mechanism. We can collect that data and see not just how severe the problem may be within Canada but also identify patterns, establish patterns of operations, and see how they work in order to better inform our authorities on how this works.
Additionally, I would like to stress that foreign intimidation and surveillance is not a strategy used solely by the PRC. We have seen other countries use these same tactics. The Citizen Lab has a fantastic report called “Digital Transnational Repression in Canada”. They carried out interviews with Canadian dissidents experiencing foreign harassment. That aspect needs to have a country-agnostic approach. We need to be looking at how this repression affects other communities as well.
Those would be my recommendations for the committee.