Our own election hack

Do you think that Canadian voters should be influenced by the Russian government? Or a foreign corporation? Or the NRA? Neither does the Communications Security Establishment, which is reviewing the vulnerability of Canada’s 2019 election to foreign influence through information hacking. Our elections should be decided by Canadians and not bought by foreigners, a principle integral to the inviolability of our democracy. Yet that principle is not legally protected. In fact, it was repeatedly violated during the 2015 election.

A left-wing American billionaire, the usual suspects from Hollywood and U.S. environmental groups financed a massive thirdparty strategic voting campaign to benefit Liberal and NDP candidates. Millions of dollars were donated to Tides U.S. that directly, or through Tides Canada, transferred the funds to over 15 Canadian third parties. Leadnow, one of these parties, canvased in targeted ridings across the country. I am not accusing foreign donors of illegality. The problem is they were technically on side.

You would not have heard about any of that from the Liberal government, because many of its MPs were advantaged by the foreign money. Had Conservatives been the beneficiaries, instead of deafening silence from progressives, a barrage of outraged accusations would be levelled at right-wing election meddling. However, this should not be a partisan issue. Canadians of every political stripe should agree we need to protect our democratic sovereignty by closing this gaping loophole. Fortunately, there is hope on the horizon. Senator Linda Frum is planning a private member’s bill to amend the Canada Elections Act.

Senator Linda Frum intends to introduce a private member’s bill amending the Canada Elections Act to prohibit third parties from accepting foreign funding for domestic political activity. Later, the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs will publish a report derived from testimony by Marc Mayrand, the former Chief Electoral Officer, and Yves Côté, the Commissioner of Elections Canada (who handles complaints). They revealed alarming facts about our election laws and how they are interpreted.

We learned it is perfectly legal for a third party to use foreign money to fund campaign activities. Even more concerning, there is no cap on the amount that can be contributed and limitless dollars can be spent, provided the recipient is Canadian. Furthermore, if the foreign money is received at least six months and a day before the writ is dropped, it will be mingled with domestic money, so disclosure of foreign funds is not required or even possible.

If the funds are received within the six-month writ period, then it is regulated. What that means is the source must be disclosed, but there is no limit to the amount that can be donated and from whom. Still, the use of funds is capped in respect to the production or transmission of election advertising messages, which was set at $8,788 for each electoral district in the last election. However, the total amount actually spent was considerably greater than the limit, because the legal loophole is even bigger than it first appears.

Parliament only regulates third-party expenses incurred for the dissemination of election advertising. But Elections Canada has an exceedingly narrow definition of what that constitutes. For reporting purposes, a candidate’s official expenses do not include the third-party cost of polling, door-to-door canvassing or other direct voter contact, websites, social media, telemarketing or robocalling. As a result, and in spite of costly campaigns, many third parties reported tiny amounts as advertising expenses.

A strict limit of $1,550 is placed on what Canadians can contribute directly to political parties and candidates. Corporate and union donations are banned entirely. But it is open season for expenditures by third parties, be they financed domestically or from L.A. or Moscow. This issue was just exacerbated by the government’s intent to allow charities to engage in political lobbying without limit.

To quote from Mr. Côté’s testimony, “third-party engagement in Canada’s electoral process will likely continue to grow. For that reason, it may be time for Parliament to re-examine the third-party regime that was put in place 17 years ago with a view to ensuring a level playing field is maintained for all participants.” When an official uses that kind of direct language, he means we have an urgent problem.

The Liberal government needs to introduce legislation well before the 2019 federal election. If for partisan advantage it does nothing to level the playing field, Conservatives will have no choice but to seek out friendly foreign donors. Beyond partisan politics, the pervasive influence of social media represents an exponentially growing danger of foreign interference.

Even more troubling, current rules do not prevent a wealthy foreign-interest group from using its financial resources to advance an ideological or commercial agenda, however narrow or inimical to Canada’s national interests or core values. Canada’s sovereignty and democratic independence need protection before things get even more out of hand.