Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will appoint an "independent special rapporteur," to make expert recommendations on combating foreign election interference in Canada, who will also decide whether an open inquiry into the subject is warranted.."Canada is one of the most stable democracies in the world, but that didn't happen by accident. And it will not continue without effort," Trudeau said during a Monday night press conference. "So to all Canadians, this is an issue that we continue to take extremely seriously. And we will continue this work to uphold and strengthen your confidence in our democracy in Canada.".The prime minister has been under pressure by opposition parties to call for an open inquiry ever since reporting from Global News alleged that the Chinese government interfered in the 2019 and 2021 elections. They alleged that at least 11 Toronto-area riding candidates that were supported by China in the 2019 election, including Liberal MP Han Dong..The prime minister said he will also task the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) with looking into foreign attempts to interfere in elections and report its findings and recommendations. The group will also be asked to review the classified evaluation of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol, which is a panel of senior civil servants that are to notify Canadians of any incident that threatened the integrity of the 2021 election..Additionally, Trudeau will ask the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) to review how Canada's national security agencies handled the threat of foreign interference during elections, placing an emphasis on the flow of information from national security agencies. ."Despite all of this, I know that there are people out there who don't believe that this is enough. I get that," Trudeau said. "This is why we're entrusting further work to someone impartial.".The prime minister said in the coming days, an "eminent Canadian will be chosen as the "special rapporteur" and given a wide mandate to make expert recommendations on protecting and enhancing Canada's democracy. "In the coming weeks, the independent special rapporteur will be responsible for informing the work of NSIRA, NSICOP, and any other existing processes like those used by Elections Canada, and to identify any gaps in our system," he said..Trudeau said the special rapporteur may also recommend an independent investigation into the allegations of election interference. He said while some have argued a public inquiry is the necessary next step, others have pointed out the potential flaws in holding such an investigation, which is why it will be up to the special rapporteur to make the call.."Together, these measures will give us a better understanding of what happened in the last two elections, how foreign governments tried to interfere, how security agencies in Canada responded to the threat of interference and how the information flowed across government," Trudeau said..Trudeau said later this week, the federal government will launch public consultations on creating a "foreign influence transparency registry." This will be done with the aim of keeping those who advocate on behalf of foreign governments accountable, while also protecting diaspora communities in Canada that are often targeted by foreign interference attempts.."It's very important that we start with this consultation because we have to be mindful of history anytime we're talking about registries of foreigners in our country," he said..Trudeau said that Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino will be tasked with establishing a counter foreign interference coordinator in Public Safety Canada. The federal government will also be investing $5.5 million dollar to build capacity of civil society organizations to combat "disinformation," which can be a "real threat to our elections.".The prime minister said foreign interference is a "complex landscape" that should not be boiled down to sound bites, binary choices, and partisan politics. ."As politicians, we work hard on building trust with Canadians every single day. But it is also our duty to do everything we can so that Canadians can trust our institutions now and into the future. Because our institutions will and must outlast every politician."
