Rosenberg says foreign interference inquiry should be 'on the table': Read the full interview
CTV
Morris Rosenberg — a former public servant who authored the report released this week on attempts to interfere in the 2021 federal election — says the option of a public inquiry should be 'on the table.'
Morris Rosenberg — a former public servant who authored the report released this week on attempts to interfere in the 2021 federal election — says the option of a public inquiry should be “on the table.”
Rosenberg told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday, his report is not the final word on foreign election interference, but rather a piece of the puzzle in studying the issue.
While Rosenberg’s report this week concluded there were interference attempts in the 2021 election, it also stated a panel designed to flag interference “did not detect foreign interference that threatened Canada's ability to have free and fair elections.”
But amid allegations of foreign election interference in recent media reports, Opposition MPs on a Parliamentary committee voted this week on a motion to call on the federal government to hold a national public inquiry.
Top federal officials told the Procedure and House Affairs Committee last week that the last two federal elections were not compromised by foreign actors, nor were there spikes in interference during those campaigns.
Rosenberg said he’s been following the debate on whether or not to hold an inquiry, and he thinks regardless of the final word on that issue, it’s important the government continue to pursue mechanisms to combat foreign interference.
“But I would also say that it's important to think through what is the scope of the public inquiry, and I wouldn't want the public inquiry to be an excuse not to continue to do the forward-looking work that needs to be done to deal with the threat, which is changing,” he said.
