CANADA'S ADVERSARIES WILL BE WATCHING, FOREIGN INTERFERENCE INQUIRY HEAD SAYS
Balance needed between secrecy, openness
• The head of the public inquiry into foreign interference says some information will have to remain secret because Canada's adversaries will be watching closely.
“Any information publicly disclosed as part of this investigation will become known not only to Canadians, but also to states and organizations with interests opposed to those of Canada. It is a reality that the commission must take into account,” Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue said in an opening statement.
Wednesday marked the first day of a second set of hearings for the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference (PIFI).
The inquiry will host two weeks of hearings into alleged interference by China, Russia, India and other foreign actors in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, as well as the flow of information and intelligence amongst federal officials and politicians.
The commission will hear from nearly 50 witnesses over 13 days, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a coterie of ministers, the heads of the RCMP, CSIS, CSE and numerous government departments, as well as officials and current and former MPs.
Hogue said at the outset of the hearing that two of the inquiry's biggest challenges are extremely tight timelines and balancing transparency with the need to protect sensitive information.
“No one can reasonably challenge the fact that the public, and journalists who work to inform the public, have a vested interest in knowing whether Canada's democratic processes have been targeted by foreign actors and whether their actions had an impact on election integrity,” Hogue said.
“On the other hand ... a public inquiry that would reveal highly sensitive information could, depending on the circumstances, do more harm than good,” she added.
Hogue cited information relating to sources of intelligence, means of collecting it or the targets of intelligence as examples of information that needs to stay secret.
The inquiry held an initial set of hearings in late January and early February to solicit ideas on how to publicly disclose as much information as possible. Even so, Hogue said recently she had agreed to a federal request to present some evidence in the absence of other participants and the public.
In her remarks Wednesday, Hogue stressed that confidentiality related to national security issues has in no way impaired her ability to search for the truth.
The commission has had access to a large number of classified documents in their entirety, meaning they were not redacted to protect national security, Hogue said.
“In fact, confidentiality imperatives have so far not prevented us from doing the work we have been tasked to do,” she said.
“But they do pose real difficulties as I endeavour to keep the process transparent and open. The commission must walk a very fine line in its work.”
People often react with suspicion when secrecy shields information held by the government, Hogue said in French. “Yet it is undeniable that there is a strong public interest in maintaining at least some forms of government secrecy.”
A PUBLIC INQUIRY THAT WOULD REVEAL HIGHLY SENSITIVE INFORMATION COULD ... DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD.