OTTAWA, ON, May 27, 2024 /CNW/ – Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, issued the following statement:
“Today in Parliament, I tabled the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency’s (NSIRA) review on foreign interference in the 43rd and 44th federal general elections.
Democracies around the world are grappling with the threat posed by foreign interference. Here in Canada, we have robust safeguards in place to protect our democracy, and we are continuously improving our capacity to address this evolving threat.
The Government of Canada welcomes the report, and I would like to thank NSIRA for their important and diligent work on these issues. This report will inform and bolster our ongoing efforts to better detect, deter, and confront foreign interference in our democratic institutions.
The Government of Canada will be further examining and reviewing the recommendations from the report as part of the government’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of Canada’s democratic process and ensuring that Canadians can trust in the fairness and legitimacy of our elections. The Government also looks forward to receiving the recommendations from The National Security and Intelligence (NSICOP) Committee of Parliamentarians and the final report from the Public Inquiry on Foreign Interference.
Important work is already underway with measures and initiatives recently put in place. Notably, earlier this month, the government introduced Bill C-70, An Act respecting countering foreign interference, which aims to protect people in Canada and ensure that Canada’s democratic system remains free and fair.
Together, this and other initiatives are helping us to further strengthen Canada’s counter-foreign interference toolkit through a range of measures and legislative amendments, while ensuring that the Canadian public is well informed of the threats posed by foreign interference.
We will continue to ensure that people in Canada can have confidence in our democratic institutions.”
Quick Facts
In 2019, the government put in place the Plan to protect Canada’s democracy that includes measures to strengthen our electoral system against disinformation and cyber threats. The plan includes initiatives such as the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol (CEIPP), the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force, the Digital Citizen Initiative, the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism and the Canada Declaration on Election Integrity Online. The plan was updated in 2021, in order to renew or improve certain key elements.As part of ensuring that Canadians can continue to have confidence in the strength and the resilience of Canada’s democracy, the Prime Minister requested that a review be conducted by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), and spoke with the Chair of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) about a review on foreign interference during the 43rd and 44th federal general elections.
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Backgrounder: Protecting Canada’s Democratic Institutions from Foreign Interference
SOURCE Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs
