Hello,
Justice Marie-Josée Hogue says that despite incidents of concerning conduct she found no evidence of traitors in Parliament plotting with foreign states to act against Canada.
The head of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions tabled a seven-volume report Tuesday with 51 recommendations – half of which can be implemented promptly, she said, “perhaps even before the next election.”
A federal election is expected this spring.
In her report, Hogue said the federal government has failed to take foreign interference seriously and act quickly or effectively to respond to it.
“The government must step up its efforts in educating and informing the public about foreign interference,” she wrote. “So far, its efforts in this regard have been piecemeal and underwhelming.”
The House of Commons asked Hogue last June to rule on findings by the all-party National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians on whether some current and former politicians were wittingly or unwittingly pawns of hostile foreign states.
For the inquiry, the government identified six “major” instances since 2018 of suspected foreign interference targeting Canada’s democratic processes, including actions by Pakistan, China and India.
Some of Hogue’s recommendations include creating a hotline for Canadians to report foreign interference and prohibiting foreigners other than permanent residents from voting in nomination or leadership contests. She also recommends that Ottawa consider creating a national agency to monitor disinformation and misinformation that could affect democratic processes in Canada.
- Explained: Five takeaways from the foreign-interference inquiry.
- Read it yourself: You can find the seven volumes of the report online.
Justice Marie-Josee Hogue, Commissioner of the Foreign Interference Commission, speaks after releasing the inquiry's Final Report, in Ottawa.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
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Question period
Justice Marie-Josée Hogue is in the spotlight today as commissioner of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference. Earlier in her legal career, which Supreme Court of Canada justice did Hogue serve as a law clerk to?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Go deeper
- Keep track of who’s in the Liberal leadership race to replace Justin Trudeau
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Like a long read? Check out the fall of Justin Trudeau and the making of Pierre Poilievre
- Take a look at the history of immigration reporting and great political scandals from A Nation’s Paper, a book about The Globe and Mail’s role in Canadian history
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
The answer to today’s question: Antonio Lamer. Hogue was a law clerk to Lamer in the Supreme Court of Canada from 1988 to 1989. Lamer served as chief justice of the court from 1990 to 2000.