Canada’s global ambitions must begin with domestic protection --
Canada’s global ambitions must begin with domestic protection --
Canada’s global ambitions must begin with domestic protection
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Just last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney met with the government of India to launch new trade negotiations. This is the same government former prime minister Justin Trudeau accused of involvement in killing a Canadian citizen on our own soil. Moreover, the RCMP claims to have evidence of Indian government “agents” engaging in extortion, intimidation, coercion and harassment.
Foreign actors have also targeted sensitive Canadian information and technological services we rely upon. At Ontario Power Generation, an employee was charged under the Security of Information Act for allegedly attempting to share safeguarded information with a foreign entity. At Hydro-Québec, a researcher was charged with obtaining trade secrets for the benefit of a foreign state. We must not become numb to persistent hacking attempts by hostile foreign states.
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As Canadians, we know the identities of individuals accused of compromising our energy grid, yet we do not know the names of lawmakers alleged to have been accomplices to foreign interference in our democracy. Some may have been re-elected to the House or remain in the Senate. Most likely continue to shape national policy.
Meanwhile, the core protections Canadians were promised to defend against future influence activities — particularly, a foreign agent registry and foreign influence commissioner — remain undelivered. Both were described as essential tools to safeguard our democratic institutions and rebuild public confidence, but neither has materialized.
This is the contradiction at the heart of Canada’s foreign policy moment. We are seeking to expand our partnerships while failing to implement the very protections we said were necessary to safeguard the country from many of those foreign actors.
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Canada should engage globally. And there are legitimate debates to be had about who we align ourselves with. But whoever we choose, we must do so from a position of strength, not vulnerability. That means delivering on the commitments for a registry and commissioner, and ensuring transparency and accountability for those implicated in foreign interference.
Until then, our citizens, secrets and democracy are left vulnerable — while we protect foreign states, and those who collude with them, from scrutiny.
Canada cannot lead internationally while leaving itself exposed at home. And the countries exploiting our vulnerabilities know it — even if we pretend not to.