With its factual hearings scheduled to conclude Oct. 16, the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions — presided over by Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Marie-Josée Hogue and her team of lawyers — is set to conduct its policy consultations from Oct. 21 to 25.
Experts will participate in a series of roundtable discussions that will help shape the recommendations included in the inquiry’s final report, which is due by Dec. 31, 2024. Hogue issued her initial report on May 3, concluding that foreign interference attempts had no impact on the results of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
However, the report confirmed that foreign actors did attempt to interfere in those elections, helping to undermine trust in the system among some Canadians. It identified China as “the most persistent and sophisticated foreign interference threat to Canada.”
According to a preparatory document assembled by inquiry staff, the policy discussions could explore a wide variety of relevant themes, including “democracies in theory and practice,” “foreign intervention and diplomatic practice,” “Canada’s national security apparatus,” “disinformation, digital space and democratic processes,” “public engagement and civic education” and “enforcing, deterring and prosecuting foreign interference activities.”
The inquiry, which launched in September 2023, was sparked largely by media reports in early 2023 of alleged foreign interference.
Even before Hogue’s panel issued its final report, the government in May tabled Bill C-70, the Countering Foreign Interference Act, which received royal assent on June 20. The sweeping legislation is aimed at updating existing laws and creating new ones to better protect Canada’s democratic processes and institutions, including amendments to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, the Security of Information Act, the Canada Evidence Act and the Criminal Code. It also proposes the creation of a foreign influence registry as part of the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act.
According to a June 2024 analysis by law firm Torys LLP, changes to the Criminal Code would create a new sabotage offence that could potentially criminalize any activity targeting any infrastructure “essential to the health, safety, security and economic well-being of Canadians.” Illegal sabotage under the Act would require the intent to endanger the safety, security or defence of Canada.
The legislation has already come in for its share of criticism from some legal and national security experts.
In a May Substack article, national security and intelligence scholar Wesley Wark, a senior fellow with the Centre for International Governance and Innovation in Waterloo, Ont., offered a deep analysis of the legislation that called it “piecemeal legal reform” that “lacks ambition.”
Among other shortcomings, he cast doubt on the value of a foreign influence registry, saying it will do little to strengthen Canada’s national security.
Instead of taking its inspiration from Australian legislation, he noted, the government should have borrowed more heavily from the United Kingdom’s National Security Act 2023.
“The UK, in its final rendering of its own foreign influence scheme, came up with what seems to me an elegant solution — a two-tiered approach to influence operations which provides a Government Minister with the power to determine a list of foreign states and actors of greatest concern,” he wrote.
Sarah Teich, an international human rights lawyer and a senior fellow with the Ottawa-based public policy think tank the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, also observed in a June article that the legislation falls short in some respects.
“In one crucial area of improvement, it is critical that Canadian authorities communicate with individuals who are targeted by foreign interference and transnational repression,” she wrote. “To date, in many instances, this has not happened.”
Appointed under the Inquiries Act, Hogue has the power to compel witnesses and testimony on matters within federal jurisdiction and broad access to classified and unclassified documents. If required, she may deliver a classified report containing any relevant classified content.
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