Morris Rosenberg, the author of a recent report released by the federal government concluding that foreign interference attempts in the 2019 and 2021 elections did not sway their outcomes, says a public inquiry into interference reports should “be on the table.”
Rosenberg said that while the government has put in place a number of mechanisms to detect and combat election interference, he also sees the need for additional measures.
“I think at this point consideration needs to be given to doing something else,” he said, adding that there are good arguments for and against calling a public inquiry.
He said that a public inquiry could take “a long time to get started” and not even be completed by the time of the next federal election, but added, “It’s an option that I think needs to be on the table.”
“I would also say that it’s important to think through what is the scope of the public inquiry,” he said.
“Whether there’s a public inquiry or not, it ought not to take away from the sense of urgency that the government should have about continuing to work on this.”
Rosenberg’s report was released by Ottawa on Feb. 28 and assessed the work done by the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol (CEIPP) in the 2021 federal election.
The CEIPP was created by the Liberal government in 2019 to communicate with the public in the event of election integrity being compromised through foreign influence.
Canadians Concerned
Rosenberg also referenced recent polls conducted by Nanos Research and the Angus Reid Institute finding that a majority of Canadians are concerned about the Chinese communist regime’s interference in Canada’s democracy and also that almost 70 percent of the country thinks Ottawa is “afraid to stand up” to Beijing.Rosenberg said he understands the concerns of most Canadians and said it “raises an issue [that] is going to have to be addressed in some way.”
However, the prime minister also dismissed the possibility of holding a public inquiry, saying there are already a number of “mechanisms” in place to counter foreign interference, such as the CEIPP.
Opposition MPs on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs voted 6–5 on March 2 in favour of calling for a public inquiry into the election interference reports.