Honourable senators, my question is for the representative of the government in the Senate.

Senator Gold, we know that Russia has been spreading false propaganda about its brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine, and that it and other non-state actors are using social media to amplify these messages as well as other messages which specifically target Canadian domestic issues as well.

Overall, we’re seeing a rampant uptick in the spread of misinformation, intentional disinformation and what some experts are calling malinformation — all very dangerous to our democracy and global stability.

Our colleague, Senator Simons, spoke to the many emails we have been receiving around Bill S-233, An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income and the impact those disinformation campaigns are having on misleading Canadians.

In my climate solutions inquiry, I highlighted my concerns about the dangers of disinformation as it relates to undermining public confidence in scientific, evidence-based climate data, climate policy and climate actions.

In response to Senator Housakos’s recent question regarding Russian propaganda, you noted that the Communications Security Establishment, CSIS and the RCMP and others are working with the government and partners to ensure that we remain safe.

Senator Gold, given the very real consequences of a rise in this type of disinformation, what else is the Government of Canada doing to counter these well-orchestrated campaigns and what concrete actions are being taken to promote awareness of these dangers amongst Canadians active on social media platforms? Thank you.