Procedure and House Affairs

The Procedure and House Affairs committee met to study foreign election interference, hearing from Daniel Rogers (Director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service), Jodie Boudreau (Deputy Commissioner, Federal Policing, Royal Canadian Mounted Police), Tricia Geddes (Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), and Stéphane Perrault (Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer). Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree also appeared.

Daniel Rogers stated that CSIS collects intelligence to identify foreign interference, uses threat reduction measures to prevent it, and provides information to help Canadians build resilience. He noted that CSIS is adopting artificial intelligence systems in accordance with federal policies, ensuring human oversight remains in place. He confirmed that CSIS has publicly identified China, Russia, India, and others as foreign interference actors, and that the agency provides advice on trade agreements and vehicle imports, though the process is less formalized than under the Investment Canada Act.

Jodie Boudreau said the RCMP investigates every complaint of foreign interference, working closely with CSIS and other partners to keep Canadians safe, using all legal means while respecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She did not make specific recommendations or disagree with other witnesses.

Tricia Geddes highlighted Public Safety’s role in policy development and legislative initiatives like Bill C-70, as well as outreach to vulnerable communities through the counter foreign interference coordinator to build trust and understand threats. She noted that lessons from the last election led to securing contracts for translation and using new communication channels to reach diaspora communities directly, and she did not make specific asks or disagree with others.

Stéphane Perrault said Elections Canada did not experience any IT breaches during the 45th general election, but identified information manipulation as the biggest threat to democracy. He recommended prohibiting false information about the electoral process spread knowingly to interfere with voting or undermine trust, requiring AI-generated electoral communications to carry a watermark, banning non-traceable contributions like prepaid credit cards, and limiting third party use of own funds to groups receiving less than 10% of revenues from contributions. He also recommended extending prohibitions on bribery, threats, and fraud to nomination and leadership races, and requiring parties to verify that members voting in those races have at least permanent residence. He disagreed with the suggestion that the IRCC database is deeply flawed, saying its quality has improved, and noted that removing a person from the voters list based on that data is not conclusive evidence of non-citizenship.

The minister faced repeated questions from Conservative members about the timeline for the foreign influence transparency registry, which he said would be operational in early spring, with the commissioner nomination before Parliament, regulations being finalized after public consultations, and the office being set up. He rejected accusations of delay, noting that other Five Eyes countries took over two years to implement similar systems. He also defended a law enforcement memorandum of understanding with China as necessary to address fentanyl trafficking, and declined to characterize China’s rule-of-law status, stating that Canada can expand trade while speaking out on human rights.