Senate wants vague election laws fixed now to prevent foreign interference

A Senate committee says the government must “urgently” amend laws to prevent foreign interference in Canadian elections, including the possible theft of confidential emails.

Current laws have loopholes that could allow foreign money and online advertising to unduly influence voters and have an impact on elections, says the Senate’s standing committee on legal and constitutional affairs in a report released Thursday.

Recommendations for changes to the Canada Elections Act come after recent reports alleging donations from the U.S. fuelled some organizations active in the 2015 election campaign, and amid international attention on a U.S. Senate investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

“It certainly makes it more of a top-of-mind issue given what’s happening in the United States,” said committee chair Bob Runciman, a Conservative senator. “I think it’s a legitimate concern right across the Western world. Certainly we can’t ignore it. Ignore it at our peril.”

The report recommends Canada:

Introduce criminal penalties, including seizure of foreign assets.

Clarify laws to address online and social media advertising.

Lift a six-month limitation on reporting contributions to third parties.

Conduct random audits on third parties’ expenses.

“New provisions are needed to address the many ways foreign entities can interfere with elections, including by spreading false or misleading information and by the theft and dissemination of confidential emails and other computer data,” the report says.

Liberal Sen. George Baker, deputy chair of the committee, explained wording needs to be clarified because the act only prohibits foreigners from “inducing” voters, which legal experts told the committee means you have to prove it resulted in the defeat of a candidate or government.

“Really, we have no protection right now,” Baker said.

Senators also agree with a recommendation from Canada’s top election officials, in a report about the 2015 election, to add a specific offence for “creation and distribution of false candidate or party campaign communication material, including false websites or other online or social media content, with the intent to mislead electors.”