QUESTION PERIOD — Privy Council Office
Accurate Public Information
October 19, 2023
Senator Gold, in the words of U.S. senator Hiram Johnson, “The first casualty when war comes is truth.” In this post-truth age and with the pernicious impact of social media in spreading disinformation, making sure our leaders have factually correct information before making public statements is vitally important.
How is Canada ensuring that our leaders have valid, independently verified and fully fact-checked information to inform their public announcements?
Thank you for your question.
Disinformation is a problem in our society. It undermines peace, prosperity and our individual freedoms. It erodes trust in democracy and reinforces polarizing viewpoints that are not used for the common good. Especially in time of crisis, this information is dangerous and harmful.
The Government of Canada works in close collaboration with its allies, and it shares pertinent intelligence to counter the global threats. It has also established the Strategic Coordination Centre on Information Sharing to help support timely, effective and responsible sharing of such information between institutions of this government.
The government is taking steps and considering steps to counter state-sponsored disinformation in Canada. It has created a dedicated team to help increase Canada’s capacity to understand, monitor and detect disinformation, and decisions will continue to be based on the best interests of Canadians.
Thank you for that, Senator Gold. Given the rampant disinformation being shared widely on social media during this Israel-Hamas war — and indeed during other wars such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — Canadians need to have access to valid and fully fact-checked information in a timely and trusted way.
What plans does Canada have to ensure that Canadians can have this kind of access? When will that happen?
In a free and democratic society, there are serious limits to what the government can or should even attempt to do to guarantee so-called truth information. We rely upon citizens and others. The Government of Canada works with its international partners, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism, the Media Freedom Coalition and the Freedom Online Coalition to share accurate information. That is on the supply side. It is working with its international partners and partners here to detect, correct and call out disinformation, whatever its source.
