G7 countries looking at stronger measures to fight foreign interference: LeBlanc
Minister was recently called on to sign authorizations for 'urgent' CSIS warrants
Some of the world's most powerful nations are contemplating additional measures to combat foreign interference, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told the inquiry into foreign interference Tuesday.
LeBlanc said methods to protect elections from meddling were discussed at a recent meeting of G7 ministers.
"England just had an election, their experience was interesting to share," LeBlanc said. "The United States is currently in an election. France also had an election.
"It was a discussion between colleagues precisely to look at what we can do together and learn from one another about the increased or supplemental measures that we can put in place."
LeBlanc said that while he is still working on plans to protect the next Canadian federal election from foreign interference, he is convinced the election can be kept safe even if it comes earlier than planned. Among other things, LeBlanc said, he's examining ways to inject more transparency in political party competitions like candidate nomination contests.
LeBlanc said Privy Council Clerk John Hannaford also met with provincial counterparts recently to talk about protecting elections.
The foreign interference inquiry has heard testimony about why it took 54 days in 2021 for former Public Safety minister Bill Blair to sign the authorization for a warrant being sought by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for an investigation into foreign interference — far longer than the usual timeline.
LeBlanc said he was told by former Public Safety minister Ralph Goodale that CSIS warrants are the "crown jewels" and he tries to review and sign the authorizations quickly.
He said that while the time it takes his office to review a warrant application can vary, none have taken as long as 54 days.
LeBlanc said he has been called upon recently by CSIS to sign a few "urgent" warrants. He did not provide further detail and refused after his testimony to take questions from reporters.
LeBlanc said the government has offered high-level briefings to party leaders and urged them to go through the security screening process so that they can be briefed on intelligence that could affect their parties.
LeBlanc said that, in one case, he arranged for another political party to be told about a potential threat.
"I was given some intelligence information about a potential threat to another political party and my instructions to CSIS were to work with the national security intelligence adviser and to as quickly as possible share that information with the appropriate security cleared person in that party," he said. "I didn't want the government of Canada to have that information and not ensure that political party could take the steps [that] in their judgment were appropriate."
LeBlanc, who was named public safety minister in July 2023, did not name the party or tell the inquiry when the incident occurred.
Earlier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief of staff told the inquiry that one of the best ways to fight foreign interference in Canadian politics is for all party leaders to be security-screened.
Testifying before the inquiry into foreign interference, Katie Telford said it's important for political leaders to be briefed on intelligence — even if they can't tell anyone about it.
"It can only help a leader to have that information," she said. "Which is why we encourage all leaders to get their clearance."
Telford said that intelligence can help inform a party leader's decisions about a candidate or an appointment.
Telford also cautioned that intelligence information can also contain errors; she cited one case where the intelligence claimed a meeting had taken place when she knew it had not.
Most current federal party leaders have accepted the government's invitation to undergo security screening so that they can be briefed on classified intelligence about attempts by other countries to interfere in Canadian politics.
The one holdout to date is Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has claimed that accepting the briefing could prevent him from speaking out.
Telford's comments echoed NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's words on Tuesday.
Reacting to news that the federal government had expelled six Indian diplomats after the RCMP publicly linked agents of the Indian government to "widespread violence" in Canada, Singh called Poilievre's refusal to secure a security clearance "troubling."
"I don't want the Indian government to think that there's one political leader willing to look the other way when this serious level of allegations are being put forward," Singh told reporters.
In a statement on Tuesday, Poilievre spokesperson Sebastian Skamski said Poilievre received a briefing from the national security adviser on the issue, and accused Singh of "lying to distract and disinform Canadians."
"Unlike others who are willing to limit their ability to hold the government to account on important issues of national security, Mr. Poilievre will not be gagged and left unable to speak or act on the information he may receive," Skamski said. He added the government could use the CSIS Act to inform Poilievre of any critical national security information he needs to know, but has chosen not to.
Meanwhile, the prime minister's deputy chief of staff Brian Clow and his senior global affairs adviser Patrick Travers told the inquiry Tuesday that the Prime Minister's Office had been kept in the dark on important foreign intelligence regarding China's targeting of Conservative MP Michael Chong and foreign interference attempts by the Chinese government in Canada.
In both cases, Telford, Clow and Travers insisted they first they learned of the allegations from news reports based on leaks.
Telford said the government has since taken steps to improve the secure transmission of intelligence information within the government, and to track who has seen that information.
The prime minister receives an average 1,000 notes a year from the Privy Council office, said Clow.
The inquiry wraps up the second phase of its hearings Wednesday with Trudeau on the witness stand.
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