(Ottawa) Justin Trudeau says MPs who want to put a political spin on foreign interference in elections are actually helping China undermine Canadians’ faith in their democracy.
The prime minister said Wednesday that playing “political games” to gain a partisan advantage contributes to undermining citizens’ trust in their institutions. He argues that this will only help the efforts of countries, like Russia and China, that are trying to destabilize democracies.
In a press briefing Wednesday morning in Richmond Hill, Ont., Trudeau said Canadians must have confidence in the electoral process, regardless of which political party is in power, and that parties must work together on this file.
Trudeau said he was glad a Commons committee on Tuesday decided to look into possible foreign interference in the 2021 election and summon ministers and heads of national security agencies.
Under the “Public Protocol in the Event of a Major Election Incident,” a nonpartisan group of senior officials is tasked with alerting Canadians to potential foreign interference if it threatens their ability to have free and fair elections. However, this group of experts did not sound the alarm during the 2019 or 2021 elections.
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act indicate that the decision of whether or not an event or series of events would meet the “threshold” for such an announcement to Canadians would require “considerable judgment”.