Canada’s Foreign Interference Scandal

A dog’s breakfast of corruption, incompetence, and indifference.

On March 22, 2024 the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) submitted its Special Report on Foreign Interference in Canada’s Democratic Processes and Institutions to the Prime Minister and a revised version was tabled in Parliament in June.  This 84-page document has caused quite a stir lately as contains allegations that unnamed MPs have covertly worked with foreign governments.  Who are they?  The public doesn’t know because the names have been redacted and NSICOP members are bound by Canada’s Security of Information Act from revealing the names.  As a result, Canadians are faced with a situation in which we know there are traitors (is there a better word for someone who works with a foreign government to undermine an election?) in parliament, an elected government unable or unwilling to release the names, and an election scheduled for October 2025 at the latest.  What are we to make of this?

What does the report say?

Always a good place to start.  As previously stated, it’s not all entirely clear due to how much has been redacted: 

• 64 sections were “revised…to summarize the information that was removed.”

• 308 pieces of information were completely redacted including names of the suspects.

Even so, the redacted sections provide some revealing information.  Examples include (paragraph # included):

• 32. [*** Six sentences were deleted to remove injurious or privileged information. The sentences described examples of the PRC paying to publish media articles without attribution, sponsoring media travel to the PRC, pressuring journalists to withdraw articles and creating false accounts on social media to spread disinformation. ***]

• 41. [*** Six sentences were deleted to remove injurious or privileged information. The sentences described an example of the PRC creating an organization to conduct foreign interference, its work in a specific federal riding, and an unsuccessful effort by a security and intelligence organization to counter these activities. ***]

• 51. [*** This paragraph was deleted to remove injurious or privileged information. The paragraph described PRC efforts to collect and use compromising material on federal politicians to intimidate or silence them. ***]

• 54. [*** Two sentences were deleted to remove injurious or privileged information. The sentences described an example of India’s financial support to some candidates from two political parties, and CSIS’s assessment that the candidates were unaware of the source of the funds. ***]

• 55. [*** Three sentences were deleted to remove injurious or privileged information. The sentences described examples of members of Parliament who worked to influence their colleagues on India’s behalf and proactively provided confidential information to Indian officials. ***]

• 62. [*** This paragraph was deleted to remove injurious or privileged information. The paragraph described how Pakistan has engaged in foreign interference in provincial and federal politics. The paragraph described how Pakistan interfered in candidate nominations, worked to support a preferred candidate’s election, including to mobilize voters and to fundraise, and efforts by a security and intelligence organization to counter these activities. ***]

• 64. [*** Two sentences were deleted to remove injurious or privileged information. The sentences described the importance India ascribes to the proxy, how Indian officials developed and built a network of contacts through whom India conducts interference activities, including journalists, members of ethnocultural communities and some members of Parliament. ***]

• 73. [*** This paragraph was deleted to remove injurious or privileged information. The paragraph described India’s alleged interference in a Conservative Party of Canada leadership race. ***]

This is enough to show that there are MPs who are actively working with foreign powers.  Note that while some candidates are “unaware” of benefiting from foreign interference, some are actively working to influence their colleagues and providing confidential information to foreign officials.  The report does not list this as “allegations” but rather as fact.  What’s more, some MPs are targets of intimidation by China, India, and Pakistan (given the extend of the redactions it is possible that other nations are doing this as well).

There is also a great deal that the report makes clear and while I cannot summarize everything in an 84-page report, I will highlight some of the information I found odd or interesting:

• While some countries are named (ex. China, India, and Russia) others have been redacted.  Which raises the question why?  For example:

  • “…the most significant perpetrators of foreign interference in Canada were the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation, with the PRC representing the greatest foreign interference threat. The Committee also noted that other states, including India, ***, Pakistan and Iran engaged in foreign interference activities.”

  • “During the period under review, the primary perpetrators of repression against ethnocultural communities in Canada were the PRC, India, ***, Iran, *** and ***. Observed transnational repression focused on fundamental rights and freedoms (e.g., freedom of expression), but did not directly target democratic institutions and processes.”

• The PRC had established at least seven “Overseas Police Stations” in Canada: “three in Toronto, two in Vancouver and two in Montreal. The stations were housed in various locations, including a residence and a convenience store.”

• The timeline is concerning as it shows a government that does not see foreign interference as a priority:

  • 82. In February 2017, the Prime Minister tasked the Minister of Democratic Institutions to work in collaboration with the Ministers of Public Safety and National Defence to lead the government’s efforts to defend the Canadian electoral process from cyber threats.

  • 93. PCO Protecting Democracy Unit: In 2018, the government established the Protecting Democracy Unit within the Privy Council Office to coordinate, develop and implement “government-wide measures designed to combat disinformation and to protect Canada’s democratic institutions.” Funding for the unit was not provided until Budget 2022. 

• Law enforcement agencies do not escape blame either:

  • 94. Briefing political parties: *** The Government authorized CSIS, CSE and the RCMP to provide leaders from the political parties represented in the House of Commons with in-depth, classified threat briefings to encourage them to strengthen their internal security practices and behaviours and build their awareness of foreign-influenced activities in Canada. However, as detailed in paragraph 95:

    • In April and May 2023, Conservative Party of Canada and Liberal Party of Canada representatives testified at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs that they received very little threat information from the government, and what they did receive was “vague” and lacked specificity.

    • The Conservative Party of Canada also testified that the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force (SITE) did not take seriously its concerns about foreign interference in 13 ridings in the 2021 election (noted in paragraph 33).

    • Both parties’ representatives testified that they thought they would be provided with actionable threat information, such as about their own party’s candidates or volunteers, so that they could keep an eye on issues or conduct their own investigations but were repeatedly told legislative challenges prevented the task force from sharing more information.

  • 121. RCMP: In 2020, the RCMP established a Foreign Actor Interference Team to coordinate and oversee its foreign interference investigations (paragraph 93). The unit was established using resources from other national security priorities and the RCMP advised the Committee that it will be unsustainable without new resources. Despite the creation of this unit, the RCMP was unable to tell the Committee exactly how many foreign interference investigations it had undertaken in the review period.

  • 122. The RCMP conducted no investigations into foreign interference-related activities in the context of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections…Additionally, the RCMP stated that CSIS likely (likely?  They don’t know?) did not provide it with any leads linked to foreign interference in democratic institutions and processes between 2018 and 2023.

Perhaps no paragraph illustrates the seriousness of this issue than 164 which states “that some Parliamentarians are, in the words of the intelligence services, “semi-witting or witting” participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics. These examples include:

• Communicating frequently with foreign missions before or during a political campaign to obtain support from community groups or businesses which the diplomatic missions promise to quietly mobilize in a candidate’s favour; 

• Accepting knowingly or through willful blindness funds or benefits from foreign missions or their proxies which have been layered or otherwise disguised to conceal their source;

• Providing foreign diplomatic officials with privileged information on the work or opinions of fellow Parliamentarians, knowing that such information will be used by those officials to inappropriately pressure Parliamentarians to change their positions;

• Responding to the requests or direction of foreign officials to improperly influence Parliamentary colleagues or Parliamentary business to the advantage of a foreign state; and,

• Providing information learned in confidence from the government to a known intelligence officer of a foreign state.”

Overall the report raises at least as many questions as it answers.  What’s more it does not leave the reader with a great deal of confidence in the government, RCMP, CSIC, or pretty much anyone involved in the “investigation” with the possible exception of the members of the NSICOP.  If I could provide one sentence to summarize my disgust with this situation it would be this: the government has known about this problem for 7 years!

What do the Government and other major parties have to say?

The Liberals

• Despite 8 years of little if any progress Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that the “issue of foreign interference is one that this government has taken extremely seriously.”  However, he added that “[w]e made clear some concerns we had with the way that NSICOP did, drew conclusions.”

• Trudeau later stated that Canadians should be 'wary' of any leader who claims foreign interference hasn't touched their party.

• “Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly insists there are no “traitors” in the Liberal caucus” adding that " “When I hear these loaded words, I feel that it's really hurting our democracy.”

• Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she takes the issue seriously but “deflected when asked if Canadians have the right to know the identity of the parliamentarians involved” stating “that authoritarians want to undermine democracies by sowing public distrust in government” and did not “agree that ‘sunlight’ on the issue would benefit democracy.”

The Conservatives

• Pierre Poilievre, the party leader, has stated that he would eject any members of his caucus named in the NSICOP report.  He has so far refused to read the report presumably because reading it would bind him to secrecy.  While the Liberals have attempted to use his stance to distract the public from the report’s findings and their desire to keep the names secret, both Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and former NDP leader Tom Mulcair agree with Poilievre’s position.

The NDP

• Jagmeet Singh, leader of the party, stated after reading the report that “there are a number of MPs who have knowingly provided help to foreign governments” but that non were members of the NDP.  He added that what some MPS are “doing is unethical” and “is in some cases against the law, and they are indeed traitors to the country.”

• Singh later added that Trudeau is more interested in protecting his “party rather than defending the country."

• When pressed by the Conservatives to pull his backing of the Liberal party and force an election, Singh stated "I want to make this point really clear, I'm worried about foreign interference in an election. I don't want to cause an election to address foreign interference. What I want to do is use my power in the minority government to get answers."

Should the names be released?

Those arguing against releasing the names tend to focus on issues that are weak at best:

1. The accused’s right to due process – Due process should be protected by due process cannot exist until an individual is accused.  There is no due process in keeping allegations secret.

2. The names cannot be released as it would endanger national security – which is the greater threat:

   1. That the names are kept secret and traitors are elected to positions of power; or

   2. That foreign powers discover which of their moles have been identified.  They can read the report as easily as anyone else so already know what’s important, that their efforts are being investigated).

3. The importance of protecting ongoing investigations – same answer question asked in bullet 2 applies here.

I for one would rather catch a few traitors and let some escape, than do nothing.  There is also the question of party collusion.  How long have the parties known that members of their teams are traitors and why didn’t they act sooner?  Despite what Freeland says, shining light on this situation is the only way to address it.  The only reasonable conclusion is to release the names!

Conclusion

What are we to make of the fact that the Liberals are the only party still arguing that the names should remain secret?  It is circumstantial evidence and does not scream “guilty,” but it certainly whispers it loudly.  Demanding secrecy while others call for transparency is not a good look for Trudeau and his Liberals.  Nor do their years of inaction.  I can’t help but return to the report’s findings.  The NSICOP, a cross-partisan committee of MPs and senators, is more likely to be trustworthy as a partisan group of politicians.  The committee’s conclusions, at best, show a government unconcerned with foreign interference:

• “This report represents the third time the Committee has reviewed the government’s response to threats of foreign interference” and that “[g]iven the risks posed by foreign interference to Canada’s national security, the Committee expected the government to act.

• “The slow response to a known threat was a serious failure and one from which Canada may feel the consequences for years to come. The implications of this inaction include the undermining of the democratic rights and fundamental freedoms of Canadians, the integrity and credibility of Canada’s parliamentary process, and public trust in the policy decisions made by the government.”

• “The threat of foreign interference is pervasive and persistent. It is imperative that the government act now to address the vulnerabilities that make Canada’s democratic processes and institutions an easy target.”

• Bearing in mind its responsibility for ensuring Canada’s national security, the federal government needs to act swiftly to remove the obstacles that prevent it from playing an effective leadership role throughout the country in countering foreign interference.

I’m hard pressed to think of another country in which this type of foreign interference would be greeted with so little action and so much apparent indifference.  The inaction and politicization must lead most reasonable Canadians to one or a combination of the following conclusions:

• The Liberal government is incompetent

• The Liberal government stands to gain from inaction

• The Liberal government is actively participating in undermining the democratic rights and freedoms of Canadians.

I am unaware of any other possible explanation.  I am certain of only one thing, if progress is to be made and the truth revealed it will have to wait until a new government is elected in 2025.  Given the level of foreign interference underway in Canada, this should scare every Canadian.  With the Liberals currently polling 20 points behind the Conservatives and demonstrating an unwillingness to address this clear threat to democracy, what are Canadians expected to conclude should the Liberals achieve a miracle victory in 2025?