Canada facing ‘brazen’ interference by China and Russia, intelligence committee warns
- Foreign powers stepping up ‘clandestine and coercive’ efforts to influence politicians, students and the media, parliamentary panel says
- Beijing seeking to ‘control the message’ in local Chinese-language news outlets, report cites as example
A parliamentary committee on Thursday warned that China and Russia are threatening Canada’s national security and democracy by stepping up “clandestine and coercive” efforts to influence politicians, students and the media.
“The threat is real, if often hidden,” the national security and intelligence committee of Canadian parliamentarians warned in its annual report.
“The threat to Canada from foreign interference is increasing. The perpetrators have become more brazen and their activities more entrenched,” it said, singling out China and Russia as the main culprits.
Their activities, said the report, “threaten the fundamental building blocks of Canada’s democracy”.
The committee also criticised the government’s response to the foreign meddling, saying “Canada has been slow to react to the threat of foreign interference” and “must do better”.
The interference has targeted elected officials and their staff, student associations and hundreds of media outlets in Canada that publish or broadcast in languages other than English or French.