Canada faces 'danger' from China and Russia, intelligence chief warns

There is a "clear and continuing danger" from "significant and sustained foreign interference" in Canadian public life, the chair of the country's parliamentary intelligence oversight committee has told the BBC.

David McGuinty MP was speaking as his committee published its annual report which includes a detailed outline of the threat and recommendations for how government should respond.

The interference takes a number of forms including targeting the electoral process, government decision-making, academic and media freedoms. Two countries, Russia and China, are singled out as responsible. Russia and China have always denied the allegations of interference.

Mr McGuinty's comments come as a report on Russian interference drawn up by the UK's equivalent body - the Intelligence and Security Committee - has not been published despite being completed a year ago.

The threat of foreign interference while real, was often hidden, the committee's new report argues, pointing to a range of activities.

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These include the way in which foreign states try and use deception to cultivate politicians, influence media reporting, monitor specific ethnic communities, harass human rights defenders, and interfere with freedom of assembly and freedom of the media and academia.

Russia is accused of engaging in activities across Canada's political system to influence government decision-making and sway public opinion.

Together there was a "significant risk to rights and freedoms of Canadians and sovereignty of the country" including "the potential corrosion of our democratic institutions", Mr McGuinty told the BBC in an interview.

Some of the specific details of the kinds of activities which have taken place are redacted or censored because they contain sensitive information.

Mr McGuinty said his committee was pointing to ways government could "up its game".

These include more transparency and communication with the public, greater internal coherence in describing and understanding the threat and improved engagement with provincial and municipal partners as well as universities and colleges.

'Insidious threat'

The committee also looked at how other allies are dealing with the issue - the US has had the most high-profile case of foreign interference with intelligence and law enforcement officials saying Russia tried to influence the 2016 presidential election.

But Australia is described as at the "forefront" of Western nations in dealing with the issue.

Mr McGuinty pointed to the way in which Australia had put in place a strategy, a co-ordinator and a task force with a significant budget attached as well as passing new laws to criminalise certain acts.

A report from the UK's Intelligence and Security Committee which covered Russian interference was completed last March and delivered to the prime minister in October but was not published before the election.

A new committee has yet to be formed and it will have to make the decision as to whether to release the report and in what form. Mr McGuinty, chair of Canada's equivalent body, made clear he felt it was important that publics understood what was happening.

"We think it is very important to communicate with Canadians and have them understand the nature of this threat," he said.

"In some respects, it is an insidious threat. It is one Canadians don't fully understand because it hasn't been brought to their attention in the way that we just have for the first time. And we are very much hopeful this is going to ignite a debate."