Parliamentary Committee Notes: Overview of Foreign Interference

Date: April 17, 2023

Branch/Agency: NCSB/PS

Proposed Response:

• In recent years, Canada has seen an increase in the frequency and sophistication of foreign interference by state actors, including the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran. States and others seeking to advance their political, economic and security interests to the detriment of Canada's.
  
• Foreign interference is a cross-cutting threat that can target Canada's democratic institutions, communities, economy, sovereignty, and critical infrastructure (including supply chains). Activities can include harassment and intimidation of Canadian communities, as well as cyber-incidents, disinformation campaigns, and other disruptive actions.
• The Government of Canada will not tolerate these activities. We remain committed to combatting foreign interference by protecting our citizens and communities, safeguarding our democratic institutions, and promoting economic security all while ensuring transparency and respect for the rule of law.
• Government of Canada takes a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to strategically countering the threat. As part of these efforts, the Government of Canada:
  • Assesses and addresses threats in accordance with relevant mandates and authorities, as well as provides advice to decision-makers;
  • Acts to disrupt foreign interference through available legal mechanisms, including publicly denouncing threats, leveraging existing legislation, or through other efforts;
  • Investigates suspected illegal activities and seeks to address them through criminal prosecution, where applicable;
  • Conducts robust national security reviews of foreign investments that may threaten Canada's national security;
  • Engages with private companies, researchers and the health sector to inform them of the threats and to help them better understand how to protect their work;
  • Provides mechanisms for public reporting through the CSIS and RCMP websites and national security threat phone lines;
  • Engages with communities at risk in Canada to help them better protect themselves against foreign threats;
  • Helps critical infrastructure operators defend critical cyber security systems that Canadians rely on;
  • Uses the full range of diplomatic tools against states that perpetuate threats to Canadian interests;
  • Coordinates and shares information with Five Eyes, and other allies, such as G7 and NATO on foreign interference and other threats.
  • Adopts a holistic approach to protecting Canada's democratic institutions and practices from interference, as exemplified by the 2019 Plan to protect Canada's democracy; and,
  • Enhances citizen resilience to disinformation by helping Canadians to become better informed about disinformation tactics and actors, and by enhancing transparency.
• Protecting the safety and security of Canadians remains at the heart of our approach. We will continue to work closely both inside and outside the federal government, domestically and abroad, to strategically counter foreign interference.

Background

Foreign interference (FI) includes activities undertaken by state or non-state actors that are harmful to Canada's interests and are clandestine or deceptive, or involve a threat to any person. Techniques used to conduct FI can include espionage, sabotage, illicit and corrupt financing, and other threat activities. Foreign states leverage these activities to advance their strategic interests including: domestic stability, seeking geopolitical influence, economic advancement, revision of the rules-based international order, and military advantage. These activities can be directed at Canadians, or residents of Canada, or against Canadian institutions to advance their strategic interests at the expense of our national interests and values.

Through its mandate to investigate threats to the security of Canada, including foreign interference, CSIS has seen multiple instances of foreign states targeting Canadian institutions and communities. As well, the RCMP is aware that illegal state-backed activities are committed against Canadians and Canadian interests, and investigates these activities further to its mandate. The scope of potential FI activities can be broad, encompassing a range of techniques that are familiar to intelligence agencies. These include human intelligence operations, the use of state-sponsored or foreign influenced media and disinformation campaigns, and the use of sophisticated cyber tools.

Several reports have highlighted the threat of FI in Canada. For example, in its 2021 Public Report, released in April 2022, CSIS stated that foreign interference activities in Canada continue to be sophisticated, persistent, and pervasive. Espionage and foreign-influenced activities are directed at Canadian entities both inside and outside of Canada, and directly threaten Canada's national security and strategic interests. Furthermore, the 2019 Annual Report of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) outlined foreign interference activities, including the targeting of Canadian institutions by threat actors. The NSICOP (2019) report pointed to Russia and China as being particularly active in Canada and made a number of recommendations for Canada to bolster its response to the threat of FI.

Contacts:

Prepared by: NCSB/NSOD
Approved by: Sebastien Aubertin-Giguere, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, 613-990-4976

Date modified:

2023-10-13