Canadians must work to protect democracy

Threats are coming from various sources, say Stewart Prest and Chris Tenove

Stewart Prest, a Vancouver-based political scientist, teaches and writes about Canadian democratic institutions, among other things. Chris Tenove is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia. He was the lead author on a report published recently by UBC: Digital Threats to Democratic Elections: How Foreign Actors Use Digital Techniques to Undermine Democracy. In 2017, the vulnerability of democracy around the world became painfully clear.

Canada seems an island of political stability, and yet we face many of the same risks as elsewhere. We use the same social media services that disseminate disinformation and foment hate. Our journalism sector is in crisis. We have seen populist attacks on visible minorities, Indigenous Canadians and other groups.

As Parliament begins its work in 2018, Canada’s politicians — and the rest of us — should resolve to be bolder and braver this year in efforts to fortify our institutions and revitalize our democracy.

Canada’s information security agency, the Communications Security Establishment, issued a report last year pointing out how the country’s parties, politicians, media and voting systems are vulnerable to foreign interference. We know that Russia has recently shown an interest in Canadian domestic politics, most visibly in its attempts to get a misleading story published in Canadian media about Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s grandfather.

Further, a major new report (one of us was the lead author) from the University of British Columbia’s Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions shows that foreign digital interference poses a significant threat to democratic elections worldwide. It argues Canada and other countries need to prepare for foreign operations and put their democratic houses in order.

The government recognizes that major reforms are needed. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tasked Karina Gould, minister of democratic institutions, with protecting Canada’s electoral process from cyber threats.

Now, it’s time to act. We need streamlined, trustworthy processes to inform the public when foreign information operations are occurring. We need serious reforms of campaign spending and other electoral regulations to address the digital interference by foreign actors. We need media platforms to better address hate speech and harassment online. Canadians must prepare themselves for campaigns that seek to turn us against each other as well.

In polls and focus groups conducted for a report by the Public Policy Forum, Canadians showed “an almost reverential respect for the role journalism plays in a democracy.” We know that we need journalists to hold governments and corporations to account, to break us out of our insular social media bubbles and provide citizens with diverse perspectives on issues of the day.

For that reason, Canada’s declining journalism sector is a genuine democratic threat. Local journalism is in steep decline, national newspaper chains have weakened, and professional journalists are fast disappearing. Social media giants have captured the advertising market while ad revenue for journalists has plummeted. Digital media startups, while exciting, don’t yet have the geographical reach or bench strength to make up for losses.

Again, politicians recognize the problem, and there have been numerous proposals for reform. It’s time for the government to act on those most likely to create conditions in which vigorous journalism, open public expression, and informed debate can flourish.

So, can we do it? Canadians in recent years have demonstrated something close to a collective allergy to democratic reform. And yet, the country’s entire political history is one of steady tinkering with governmental institutions.

The innovations in the Senate are an excellent recent example of successful reform. By converting the Liberal senators into independents and introducing a selection process that emphasizes merit over partisanship, the Liberals have brought thoughtful and independent new voices into a previously sclerotic institution. The transition has not been without hiccups, but the net effect has been positive.

We ought to embrace that spirit of innovation wholeheartedly in 2018.

There are myriad other ideas about how to fortify and reinvigorate Canadian democracy. Let’s try some this year. Not every experiment will work the way we hoped, but many will, and our democracy will be the richer and stronger for having made the effort.