Procedure and House Affairs committee  In light of that, I will be brief. I don't have any subamendments to make. We'll just leave this as it is. I do think we should vote for this separately, though. It sounds to me like there's a very clear message that we have three different parts. That's something I would like to provide feedback on.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to remind all members that I was one of the people who signed this ask for an emergency discussion. I really appreciate our differing opinions. I think it's always important to have space for that. I just want to recognize that. I also want to mention that we should not be heckling in committee.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Do you want to add something, Mr. Judd?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I have one question for Mr. Kolga. I want to come back to the question I asked earlier about rural and remote communities, indigenous, ethnic groups, and marginalized groups. You spoke a lot about small, local, community media and how important it is to have those sustainable systems in place so they can provide information in a trusted way and that they're trusted resources.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think that's really interesting. I think of the convoy that was outside and how many people were yelling about fake news. I saw reporters right in front saying things like, “Say whatever you like. We're totally open. You're on live television.” People were just losing that connection with the understanding of our reality.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to both of the witnesses for your testimony today. I'm going to start my questioning with Mr. Kolga. In one of your responses to a question, you said very clearly that Russia never sleeps. I thought that was an important thing to pick up on. We know that Russia never sleeps and that it is constantly looking at ways to create destabilized realities within other countries.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Is it Thursday or Tuesday when we return?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. I'm going to leave this question open to both of you. I'll just let you decide who answers. I'm seeing an increase of misinformation on social media, and it just continues to grow and grow. There's no longer that debate about different opinions or perspectives; it's more about debating the facts of reality, which I find really scary and concerning.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. I have only a couple of seconds, so I will cede those.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I appreciate that, but I also represent in my riding a lot of rural and remote communities that often have limited access to services. I'm just curious if there are any particular strategies or recommendations that you're providing for different community groups—rural communities, remote communities that have limited access to connectivity—or looking at different groups across our country that are more marginalized.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  My next question is that, of course, when we look at this process, there has to be a balance between what we expect voters to do to inform themselves and understand and how government should ensure that accurate information is available to the public. How do you envision this task being balanced between the two?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Of course, I thank the folks who are here testifying. I really appreciate the work you do. I'm learning a lot today. As we're having this discussion, I can't help but reflect on how important it is that voters and institutions be protected from any threat to democracy, and how important it is to continue that work.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. My last question for both of you is really on the pre-election period. We're hearing a lot more about the due diligence that needs to be done in the pre-election period. We can't ever overestimate how foreign influence will come through the process. I'm just wondering if you could talk a little about what would be more beneficial around the pre-election period in terms of the services you provide and how they could assist us in building Canadians' trust in the systems we have here for our elections.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  My time is wrapping up, but I will say again that it is by interacting with our systems that we build trust, so I think it is important for the pre-election component. Thank you.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Just to go back to that idea, I guess I'm curious about methods that are being looked at in terms of reporting on which communities are the most vulnerable. What I mean by that, for example, is that indigenous communities, where there is often a sense of distrust already, could be more vulnerable to misinformation around how to vote and what the process is.