Hon. Marty Klyne: Senator Gold, I have a question about foreign interference in Canada’s elections. This July, the Democratic Engagement Exchange published a report entitled Responding to Foreign Interference and Disinformation in Canada’s Elections. One proposed solution was to create a national strategy delineating the roles of federal, provincial and municipal governments in countering foreign interference and disinformation while fostering collaboration and trust among diverse stakeholders such as security agencies.

Would the government consider modifying and building on efforts already in place such as the Critical Election Incident Protocol, for example, by making the protocol permanent and not just in effect during the writ period?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and for underlining the importance of measures to combat all aspects of foreign interference and certainly those affecting our elections and our democratic institutions.

I would like to assure colleagues that the national security agencies are working tirelessly to protect Canada and Canadians and to ensure the integrity of our institutions. Due to recently passed legislation, as we know, the federal government and these agencies can work more collaboratively with both provinces and territories than ever before to help support and increase their resiliency.

To get closer to your question, if not directly onto it, senator, the government is also looking forward to receiving recommendations from the final report of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference, which will inform the government’s decisions going forward. The government will continue to do its part to ensure that Canadians can have confidence in our democratic institutions.

Senator Klyne: There are civil society organizations helping Canadians to develop robust digital literacy and civic education to foster critical thinking. As a supplementary question, has the government considered the role Elections Canada could play in addressing disinformation and misinformation on an ongoing basis and whether it should do so?

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. As I mentioned, senator, the government is looking forward to the recommendations that will be provided from the final report of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference. The government will always take into account those and any other helpful suggestions to improve our resiliency and combat foreign interference.