No ‘traitors’ in parliament on foreign interference, report says

Foreign interference did not affect the last two federal elections.

The final report of a public inquiry makes 50 recommendations after hearing from over 100 witnesses.

Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue says there was no evidence of ‘traitors’ in parliament.

“Some may have benefitted from the support of a foreign state, sometimes without knowing anything about it. But again, so far, this does not have seem to have led to any real gains for the states involved,” said Hogue during a press conference.

Hogue also called on the government to be more transparent, and said a lack of communication was evident.

“The means used to communicate information to certain decision makers proved imperfect. Certain documents never got to where they were supposed to go, and there seems to be no good reason why.”

She notes as a society, we must defend against disinformation, especially on social media.

Conservatives respond

The Conservatives say the Liberals failed to protect Canada from foreign meddling.

In a statement, the party says people should be concerned that the government failed to inform them or take action to stop the interference.

They say the report shows that Conservatives were right to be concerned over the last two years.

The party adds it leaves many questions, but they’re relieved that there were no traitors in parliament acting with foreign officials.

NDP concerned about misinformation

Following the report release NDP Jagmeet Singh expressed relief that no “traitors” were found in parliament, however, he does have growing concerns about misinformation.

Singh says the report highlights serious concerns about misinformation and foreign interference, calling disinformation on social media “rampant” and a significant threat to democracy.

“We do not have tools right now to combat [misinformation], and it is rampant,” Singh said. “That is a serious concern for democracy and for an upcoming election.”

Singh criticized Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre for “accepting the endorsement of Elon Musk,” whose platform, he argued, is “one of the worst actors in a lot of ways around misinformation and disinformation.” Singh also condemned Poilievre’s support for defunding the CBC, saying the broadcaster is “a source of real information [and] journalistic integrity.”

He also backed Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue’s recommendation for all political leaders to receive security clearance. “All leaders should get security clearance and receive information that is pertinent to their parties or to democracy in general,” Singh said, adding that Poilievre is “the only leader of a political party that has not received security clearance.”