Evidence of meeting #5 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was elections.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Élisabeth Brière Liberal Sherbrooke, QC
Do you think that the Canada Elections Act, as it currently stands, opens the door to foreign interference? If so, how?
Professor, Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
I don't see the current election law being full of gaps and holes so that foreign actors who have hostile intent would look at it and think it's a particularly vulnerable election law. I don't feel that way. I think foreign interference, unfortunately, is a way of life, not just for Canada but for other democracies too. Different democracies are taking different approaches on how to handle that. Sometimes it's through law. Sometimes it's through creating some sort of commissioner of some office that's dedicated to raising awareness about foreign interference and about different foreign campaigns that could affect elections.
As I think about it, when we think about things like foreign interference, foreign intrusion and foreign influence, there's a spectrum of ways in which foreign actors might try to influence the conversation. They're not all equally problematic. The ones we have to worry about are the ones that are clandestine. They're hidden in ways such that people are not supposed to really see that this is an effort to change the electoral conversation or to mislead people. I think we could all point to examples of political actors in other countries who would love to have an effect on how our politics are being practised. It's not the same type of thing, because they're saying it out loud.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Chris Bittle
Thank you so much.
I'd like to thank the witnesses.
We've been through two full rounds of questioning. I will look to the committee to adjourn.
Seeing nods, I will adjourn the meeting.