Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the committee for this invitation.
Let me acknowledge that we're gathered here on the traditional, unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people.
It is becoming abundantly clear that the world is becoming more dangerous and divided. The order that underpinned global prosperity for decades is undergoing a profound transformation driven by geopolitical realignment and technological change.
These changes mean the threat landscape Canada faces is rapidly evolving.
Our adversaries are actively seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in this shifting landscape. What is their goal? It's to undermine our society and advance their own interests.
Canadians expect their government to protect their democracy and uphold western democratic principles. That includes ensuring fair, transparent elections.
Our approach is working. The integrity of the most recent federal election was not compromised by foreign interference.
That was thanks to our comprehensive election security framework, including continuous intelligence monitoring and assessment of foreign interference threats throughout the election period.
Our government has taken steps to ensure that existing measures against foreign interference are effective and to take other measures where necessary. At the same time, it is critical that we maintain transparency and accountability.
Throughout the last election period, Public Safety Canada and Elections Canada, along with national security agencies—including CSIS, CSE and the RCMP—worked in constant coordination. That collaboration was critical in the successful defence of our democratic process in the last general election.
Our agencies worked to detect covert foreign interference activities, as well as to monitor foreign state actors that would seek to undermine public confidence in Canadian democracy. Additionally, for the first time during a federal election, the security and intelligence threats to elections task force provided weekly technical briefings to the media that helped sensitize and educate Canadians about the threats that could impact the election.
In short, our election infrastructure and systems were constantly protected.
And I’ll reiterate: Our safeguards functioned as designed, and the integrity of the federal election was not compromised.
In the event of a foreign interference threat, a non-partisan process called the critical election incident public protocol, established in 2019, is in place to inform Canadians. Even in non-election periods, our government and our national security partners remain steady. Our environment is constantly evolving. Threats have become more sophisticated, more covert and more persistent. We continue to examine our approach and seek improvements, striving for more efficient detection and greater transparency.
We have made significant progress. That includes advancing work to bring the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act into force. This act strengthens transparency regarding foreign influence activities, notably by naming Anton Boegman as the foreign influence transparency commissioner, who will oversee the upcoming foreign influence transparency registry. As you may be aware, Mr. Chair, I tabled on Tuesday the name of Mr. Boegman as the proposed commissioner for this registry.
The act also established an administrative monetary penalty regime to support enforcement and discourage violations. On January 2, proposed regulations to implement the act were published online for public consultations. Those consultations closed earlier this week. The proposed regulations identify the information to be collected and published about foreign influence activities, set out administrative monetary penalties of up to $1 million and establish how we will work with partners at all levels of government to uphold the act.
I want to reassure all Canadians and my honourable colleagues that the establishment of the registry remains a top priority. These are delicate and complex mechanisms that require deliberate and careful implementation. Equivalent systems in the Five Eyes took over two years to fully implement. We are very much on track. These key initiatives make foreign influence transparent and safeguard the integrity of Canadian democracy. The threat of foreign interference is complex. Standing up these measures is being done with both urgency and care.
It is only through robust, careful planning that we will continue to be able to detect and manage these threats. We're committed to continuing our work of strengthening democratic resilience during elections and at all times. This means remaining alert; adapting to new, rapidly evolving threats; and protecting Canadians.
Canada's democracy is strong and we will continue taking action to protect it.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions and comments.
