QUESTION PERIOD — Foreign Affairs
Public Health Disinformation
March 2, 2022
Honourable senators, my question is for Senator Gold.
Although Russian-driven or -supported disinformation, designed to destabilize our democratic system of governance, is now more visible to Canadians, it has been here for some time.
Over the pandemic, it has increased in sophistication, intensity and volume. Disinformation is coming from RT, which was described by its editor-in-chief as an “information weapon,” and other sources as well. During this pandemic, much of its output has been focused on anti-vaccination and anti-public health messages. It has become linked to various conspiracy theories, such as Chinese social credit and the new world order. It has skilfully fanned pandemic fatigue, promoted anger-driven spread of disinformation and supported actions directed against our democratic institutions.
According to Marcus Kolga of the MacDonald-Laurier Institute, the aim has been to harness public anxiety and fan it toward chaos and even sedition. Indeed, we are seeing this type of disinformation starkly in the recent statement on the invasion of Ukraine issued by the Embassy of the Russia Federation in Canada.
Senator Gold, what is the Government of Canada doing to actively counter the spread of Russian-supported public health disinformation?
Thank you for your question. Let me begin by quoting Minister Rodriguez who, on March 1, said:
We must defend Canadians from disinformation and propaganda, and we won’t be deterred by malevolent foreign governments.
Protecting Canada and Canadians online is a key priority, as I mentioned in my previous answer. It’s clear that disinformation poses a threat to the safety of our communities and the legitimacy of our institutions — indeed our national unity. As I mentioned, the government is working closely with officials and allies to address disinformation and the threat of foreign interference and will continue to work to that end.
I’ve also been advised that the Communications Security Establishment will be assisting Ukraine to support intelligence cooperation, cybersecurity and cyberoperations.
Senator Gold, Andrew Nikiforuk, an investigative journalist, recently called attention to a potential link between the Ottawa occupation convoy and Russian-supported disinformation, pushing anti-vaccine and anti‑public‑health messages and demands to overthrow the Canadian government. What is being done to fully investigate this concern? Will this be part of the mandate of the Emergencies Act review committee? What should we, as responsible parliamentarians, be doing to address this issue?
Thank you for your questions, Senator Kutcher.
With respect to the investigation efforts, which was part of your question, I will make inquiries with the government and report back to this chamber.
Regarding your other questions, as previously articulated in debates, and as we all know by now, the Emergencies Act provides that the review committee will have the ability to thoroughly investigate all circumstances leading up to the proclamation of the emergency.
With regard to what we as responsible parliamentarians may do, we’re aware that foreign interference through funding and threats has been reported. I would encourage all of us as parliamentarians to engage in all items consistent with the objectives of parliamentary oversight of the actions undertaken under the Emergencies Act.
