Inquiry report to suggest ways of bolstering election integrity

OTTAWA — Fresh recommendations are expected today from a commission of inquiry into foreign interference — including advice on when the public should be told of meddling during a federal election campaign.

The final report from commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue will also address simmering allegations about the activities of some parliamentarians and suggest ways to better protect members of vulnerable communities from transnational repression.

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Hogue’s report also will examine how effective key federal agencies are at sharing information about foreign interference and briefing politicians on possible threats.

Hogue, a Quebec judge, will make a statement once the report is public but will not take questions from the media.

Her findings come in the middle of a campaign for the federal Liberal leadership, and possibly just weeks before Canadians head to the polls for a national election.

In an interim report issued last May, Hogue said interference by China did not affect the overall results of the last two general elections.

The report said that while outcomes in a small number of ridings may have been affected by meddling, this cannot be said with certainty.

The inquiry’s most recent public hearings looked at the ability of government agencies, officials and political parties to identify and counter foreign meddling. The commission held a series of policy roundtables to help develop recommendations.

Hogue has also drawn on the work of other bodies, including two spy watchdogs.

In a late May report, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency said Canada’s spy service and Public Safety Canada lacked a system for tracking who received and read specific intelligence on foreign interference, creating “unacceptable gaps in accountability.”

The following month, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) raised eyebrows with a public version of a classified report that said some parliamentarians were “semi-witting or witting” participants in the efforts of foreign states to meddle in Canadian politics.

Although the NSICOP report didn’t name individuals, the stark assertion that some parliamentarians knowingly involved in interference might still be active in politics came as a shock.

The commission of inquiry subsequently agreed to examine NSICOP’s findings.

Hogue said in September the commission plans to address the allegations and make recommendations in the classified version of the inquiry’s final report.

“Some information cannot be revealed publicly without jeopardizing national security,” Hogue told the inquiry.

“That being said, I am confident that the information that will be disclosed will be sufficient to enable the public to understand the findings I will make, the conclusions I will draw and the recommendations I will propose.”

Parliament passed legislation last year to reinforce Canada’s defences against foreign meddling.

The federal bill created offences for deceptive or surreptitious acts that undermine democratic processes, such as covertly influencing the outcome of a candidate nomination contest.

Another new offence outlaws deceptive or clandestine acts that harm Canadian interests — for instance, helping foreign agents posing as tourists to enter Canada.

A foreign influence transparency registry will require certain individuals to register with the federal government.

Given the fact that opposition parties have threatened to topple Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government at the first opportunity, additional legislative changes to guard against foreign meddling appear unlikely before the next federal election.

Hogue is still expected to make some recommendations that could be implemented without passing a bill.

Under the current federal system, a panel of five top bureaucrats would issue a public warning if they believed an incident — or an accumulation of incidents — threatened Canada’s ability to have a free and fair election.

There was no such announcement concerning the 2019 or 2021 general elections.

Hogue’s report could address the possibility of a more nuanced system for alerting voters to a development that might not otherwise trigger the high threshold for a public announcement.

Members of diaspora communities in Canada told the inquiry how China, India, Iran and Russia can make life extremely difficult for families here when their members dare to question the regimes.

Hogue is likely to offer recommendations on how Canada can better prevent and manage the scourge of harassment, death threats, coercion, cyberattacks and widespread misinformation and disinformation campaigns targeting diaspora communities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2025.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press