Foreign interference, Hogue: “No evidence of ‘traitors’ in Parliament”, but she ‘scolds’ government and parties
OTTAWA – There are no “traitors” in Parliament (or at least there is no evidence…), but the federal government – and the parties too – should still take steps to better safeguard Canada’s democratic institutions from foreign interference.
This is what emerges, in a nutshell, from the final report of Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue, judge of the Court of Appeal in Quebec, published today as the final act of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions launched by the federal government in September 2023.
The report contains 51 recommendations for the federal government, nearly half of which, according to the commissioner herself, should be taken into account before the next election.
In hundreds of pages collected in 7 different volumes (available for consultation and/or download at the following link: https://foreigninterferencecommission.ca/reports/final-report), the report analyzes in depth the phenomenon of foreign interference in all its facets, and represents a substantial summa of the sixteen months of work of Hogue who heard more than 100 testimonies (at all levels, including the Prime Minister) and 60 experts and members of the diaspora, examined “tens of thousands of documents” and deepened another important report: the one released by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) last June, where it was revealed that some Canadian parliamentarians were “semi-witting or witting” participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in Canadian affairs.
“There are legitimate concerns about parliamentarians potentially having problematic relationships with foreign officials, exercising poor judgment, behaving naively and perhaps displaying questionable ethics” Hogue wrote in her final report. “But I did not see evidence of parliamentarians conspiring with foreign states against Canada. While some conduct may be concerning, I did not see evidence of ‘traitors’ in Parliament” she wrote, adding that the NSICOP report did not include a list of MPs suspected of engaging in foreign interference, contrary to what some believed at the time.
As for the countries involved in interference, while Hogue’s initial report (the one from May 2024) identified China as the “most persistent and sophisticated foreign interference threat to Canada…”, the final report released today details how India has become the “second most active foreign interference in Canadian elections”. India: with this country, relations have notoriously become very tense in recent times, mainly due to the difficult relations between the Hindu and Sikh communities, often resulting in crimes committed on Canadian soil.
“Like the PRC (People’s Republic of China), India conducts foreign interference through diplomatic officials in Canada and through proxies” Hogue wrote. “A body of intelligence indicates that proxy agents may have, and may continue to be, clandestinely providing illicit financial support to various Canadian politicians in an attempt to secure the election of pro-India candidates or gain influence over candidates who take office. The intelligence does not necessarily indicate that the elected officials or candidates involved were aware of the interference attempts, or that the attempts necessarily succeeded,” she added.
The report then cites Russia, Pakistan and Iran as other countries considered threats of foreign interference for Canada. All interference, however, did not – according to Hogue’s report – influence the outcome of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. “While any attempted interference is troubling, I am reassured by the minimal impact such efforts have had to date” she wrote, noting “the competence, dedication and experience of the members of Canada’s senior public service and national security and intelligence community” but also adding that the government’s response when it comes to foreign interference has been “far from perfect…” and then she also “scolds” the parties, inviting them in recommendation number 31 (in the screenshot here below) to establish stricter rules on citizen participation in political life (for example, requiring Canadian citizenship or at least permanent residency).
Finally, according to the report, it would be appropriate to inform the “public” more: until now, people have been kept in the dark about foreign interference and, we would add, informed only by the press that in this matter has replaced the federal government in terms of transparency. As often happens, after all.
To directly download a summary of the report, click here: Report_Summary
In the pic above, Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue (photo from Twitter X – @PIFIEPIE)