Some members of parliament say they have no idea how to spot foreign interventionAs Canada’s spy agency warns, all elected officials are targets of hostile states.
NDP MP Rachel Blaney said, “There is a lack of clarity about what MPs and their parties can do to protect themselves.” csis Officer on 9 February.
She was speaking during a hearing of the House Process Committee on Foreign Interference, which is studying allegations of China’s efforts to interfere in the 2019 federal election.
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Lawmakers heard from Canada’s Security Intelligence Service about efforts to protect against foreign states trying to improperly influence elected representatives and candidates for office.
“All levels of government are susceptible and targeted by foreign interference actors,” testified Cheri Henderson, assistant director of CSIS.
“He’s a provincial, federal and municipal _ all election candidate.”
Henderson said that CSIS should “educate all Canadians, including parliamentarians, regarding the potential threat they face from foreign-interference actors.”
The MPs nodded in agreement at that suggestion.
“I’m worried that something might happen, and I’d happily go on doing my job during an election, and I wouldn’t know,” Blaney said.
The BC MP asked officials what they and their staff should look for or ask about to avoid foreign influence.
Liberal MP Jennifer O’Connell said on 7 February that her colleagues had long been at loggerheads over how best to intervene.
“There’s really been little-to-no briefing or training for MPs on how to deal with this, so clearly the issue remains,” said the Toronto-area MP. National Security and Intelligence Committee of MPs.
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A year ago, CSIS told the media it was briefing some lawmakers and senators on foreign influence and interference, and two lawmakers who frequently speak out against China confirmed such training. But it is not clear how many elected officials are given these briefings.
Adam Fischer, CSIS’s director general for intelligence assessment, testified on February 9, “We try to include people we know are being targeted.”
He added that CSIS is “engaging with parties in a classified setting (and a) unclassified setting with a broad audience to educate them about the threat.”
Henderson pointed to a general guide released last year called “Foreign Interference and You,” which contains vague advice such as protecting yourself “by being aware of the threat and doing your due diligence.”
The guide advises MPs, academics and civil servants to lodge a police report or alert CSIS when they face “threats, harassment, coercion or intimidation”, including “sharing valuable information through a casual conversation”. manipulate”.
Another CSIS document, “The threat of foreign interference to Canada’s democratic process,” urged politicians to avoid sharing personal information with strangers, question suspicious donations and heed “persistent requests to meet privately”. gives advice.
The agency did not provide further details when asked to respond to the concerns raised by the lawmakers.
“CSIS works with a variety of organizations representing all major political parties, including elected officials at all levels of government across Canada, to raise awareness of potential threats to Canada’s security and interests and to provide advice on how to protect themselves and their engages regularly with stakeholders. Staff,” agency spokesman Brandon Champagne wrote in an email.
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“These briefings are provided to promote awareness of state-sponsored foreign interference and to strengthen individual security practices and protect Canadians and their interests.”
Stephanie Corwin, a professor at Carleton University’s Norman Patterson School of International Affairs, said CSIS and elected officials don’t seem to understand each other.
“It’s a real challenge,” said Carwin, a former national security analyst.
“If CSIS doesn’t necessarily understand an MP’s incentives, and the MP doesn’t really understand what CSIS does, then only these dilemmas arise,” she said.
“If these publications do not reflect the needs of an MP, or the life of an MP, or the incentives of an MP, then they are not particularly useful.”
She said this is compounded by the fact that Canada does not give security clearance to most of its elected officials, unlike other democracies, and there is a lack of data on alleged cases.
Corwin said foreign interference is not a criminal charge and no one has been charged under the Canada Elections Act for advocating on behalf of a foreign state.
Given the lack of public information, Carwin said CSIS can provide politicians with activities or behaviors to watch as they make public appearances, take donations and meet with constituents and interest groups.
“The whole foreign interference file is such a black box,” she said. “What he should be doing is giving case studies to lawmakers.”
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This week, the Australian government went public with a case from its spy agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, that shut down an attempt by an Iranian proxy to target a dual citizen for organizing protests in Australia that was based in Iran. were important to
In Tuesday’s speech, Australian Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neill said: “Last year, ASIO intercepted the activities of individuals who carried out surveillance in the home of an Iranian-Australian, as well as the individual and their Had done extensive research of the family.” ,
“We need to not only disrupt these operations, but prevent future ones by locking them out where possible, by imposing a cost on their sponsors.”
Carvin also said the Liberals are right to caution against stigmatizing communities in updating national-security equipment. The Liberals have moved slowly on consulting about a possible registry of foreign agents.
Such a registry compels people to publicly report when they act on behalf of a foreign state, and face fines or jail time for not doing so.
Carvin said that in recent decades Canada and its allies have hindered their work to stop terrorism by stigmatizing Muslim communities, and she warns against doing the same to Canadians of Asian descent.
“We need to do a better job, whether in terms of providing case studies or a list of actions and behaviors, rather than stigmatizing any particular equity-deserving group,” she said.
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Corwin said national security agencies have been aware of foreign interference targeting diaspora communities for years, but the issue only receives public attention when it involves lawmakers.
“We are not listening to the communities themselves,” she said.
“Anybody can be an agent of influence, it doesn’t depend on their nationality, it depends on who they are and what they’re doing.”