A federal public inquiry is grappling with the thorny distinction between legitimate foreign diplomacy and nefarious attempts to meddle in Canada’s affairs.
Inquiry commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue listens to testimony at the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Quassim Cassam, a professor of philosophy at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, told the roundtable Monday morning that the U.K. defined it when it passed legislation making foreign interference an offence. He said one way to decide is whether the foreign state officials attempt to hide their true intentions when holding a meeting or making a statement.
Former privy council clerk and Canadian ambassador to Italy Alex Himelfarb suggested it is impossible to"define away" this grey zone and greater attention needs to be paid to the use of non-state actors in spreading disinformation. "That information got intertwined with issues of identity and ideology. It became exploitable for political purposes. This was happening quite independent of the writ period, long before elections, but is an indirect way of influencing elections."
Cassam said it could be difficult to convince people to trust such a body, especially those who are already distrustful of government and its institutions.
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