Bringing Political Parties into the
State Security Apparatus

The Liberals say that the "multi-faceted and ever-evolving tactics" of "malicious foreign actors" constitute a "serious strategic threat" to Canada. These actors want to "undermine our democratic societies and institutions, our electoral processes, our sovereignty and our security."

Without telling anything, the backgrounder titled "Improving Organizational Readiness" the Liberal government has provided to explain away the police powers it has put in charge of elections in Canada says, "government institutions have and will continue to work together" to deal with threats of foreign interference, including taking "the necessary steps to understand the possible threats to our democratic institutions, where they come from, and how they could affect our electoral processes."

Within this context, it informs that both the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) are working with Elections Canada "to identify threats, emerging tactics and systems vulnerabilities;" CSE is also working with the House of Commons, and provides services and tools to Members of Parliament travelling abroad.

"Table-top" exercises have been and will continue to be conducted by federal departments and agencies to test plans, training and information-sharing procedures for potential threats to the 2019 Federal Election. It also announces that "whole-of-government exercises have already been conducted, including in the areas of cyber security and disinformation campaigns, and still more exercises are planned." In addition to participating in some Government of Canada exercises, Elections Canada is also undertaking its own internal simulations.

The Liberal government says it will "continue to detect and respond to foreign interference," stating that it will:

- offer technical advice, including online security measures and internal security practices, to Canadian political parties and election administrators to help them better protect their own cyber systems;

- sensitize decision-makers to the nature of foreign interference; and

- provide classified threat briefings to key political party leadership.

"Together these initiatives will work to strengthen internal security practices and build resilience against foreign interference activities in Canada."

This article was published in

Volume 49 Number 3 - February 2, 2019

Article Link:
Bringing Political Parties into the State Security Apparatus

    

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