Parliamentary Committee Notes: Government of Canada's Approach to National Security
Date: February 2, 2023
Branch/Agency: NCSB/PS
Proposed Response:
- The protection of Canada and Canadians’ safety, security, health and prosperity is a top priority for the Government of Canada.
- National security in Canada is a collaborative effort between federal departments and agencies, who work closely with provincial, territorial, municipal and private sector stakeholders and citizens, as well as with key allies in the Five Eyes, G7 and NATO.
- The evolving and complex national security landscape means that we have to counter an increase number of threats in the following priority areas: hostile activities by state actors; economic security; cyber security and emerging technologies; violent extremism and terrorism; border security; environmental and health security; and the organized crime-national security nexus.
- As a government, we have been responding. For example, in Budget 2022, Public Safety Canada was allotted $12.6 million over 5 years and $2.9 million ongoing to build and maintain the Research Security Centre, which will assist with the implementation of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships, which we launched in 2021.
- The Centre will enable us to work closely with universities and researchers to continue to build a robust research security culture, which will continue to value openness and academic freedom while protecting our world leading innovation from illicit transfers of knowledge.
- In regards to cyber security, which represents one of our most serious economic and national security challenges, the Government of Canada has taken several important steps to ensure that our policies and laws are up to the task in a rapidly evolving world:
- Canada has a robust National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS), which was launched in 2018. A first wave of initiatives has been delivered, based on the Strategy, including the creation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, as part of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE). In addition, Budget 2022 committed $852.9 million to enhance the Communications Security Establishment’s ability to conduct cyber operations, make critical government systems more resilient, and prevent and respond to cyber incidents on critical infrastructure.
- At the direction of the Prime Minister, the NCSS is currently being renewed in an effort to ensure we remain cyber resilient.
- On June 14, 2022, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-26, An Act Respecting Cyber Security (ARCS). Bill C-26 is critical to our country’s national security and public safety. If passed, it will help secure Canada’s critical infrastructure against fast-evolving cyber threats, while spurring growth and innovation to support our economy.
- In Budget 2022, the Government of Canada also committed to providing $13.4 million over five years, starting in 2022-23 to renew and expand the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism – an international forum that addresses foreign threats to democracy, including state-sponsored disinformation.
- Further, in August 2022, the Government announced the creation of a dedicated team to monitor and detect Russian influence operations and enable deeper international coordination, including through the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism.
- Building on best practices from 2019, the Government of Canada also initiated a number of additional measures to protect the integrity of our democratic institutions and processes leading up to the 2021 Federal Election. This included implementing the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol, and renewing the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism.
- Supporting these measure is the Security Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force. Over the course of the 2019 and 2021 Federal Election, CSIS and the RCMP worked closely with other members of the SITE Task Force to coordinate efforts against foreign interference by raising awareness, assessing threats, and preparing the government’s response to them.
- As adjacent economic-based threats to our national security evolve in sophistication and complexity we need to ensure that our approach to addressing them evolves too.
- Such threats can include non-tangible assets like intellectual property and the sensitive personal information of Canadians, as well as those more tangible dual-use goods and technologies, and access to Canada’s critical infrastructure.
- Recent initiatives to enhance national security include amendments tabled by the Government in December to strengthen the Investment Canada Act, in addition to national security guidelines with respect to foreign investment review and research security partnerships issued by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
- We continue to work closely, both inside and outside the federal government, domestically and abroad, to strategically counter national security threats. This is a whole-of-government, and a whole-of-society, effort.
- In recent years, there has been a strong shift in focus to national security transparency in Canada to better inform Canadians of priority national security issues. National security transparency is key to increasing social cohesion, and to strengthening trust in Canada’s democratic institutions.
- In addition, the Government has further strengthened its framework for conducting independent review and oversight of the security and intelligence community. The National Security Act, passed in 2019, included creation of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and the Intelligence Commissioner. These bodies, together with the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, review and report on policy and operations of all of our departments and agencies. The National Security Act is expected to be reviewed by Parliament starting this year.
- I would reiterate emphatically that the Government of Canada does not, and will never, tolerate threats to Canada and Canadians. While we have made our commitment clear, the threat environment is not static, and we are continuously looking at new ways to address national security.
- That is why I announced just this past December that the Government will launch consultations with stakeholders and the public on ways to increase transparency on foreign influence, including potentially requiring individuals acting as agents for foreign states to be properly registered.
- These consultations will provide Canadians with an opportunity to lean in, and share with us their views and concerns.
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