Trudeau government was warned two years ago of foreign interference threat, inquiry hears

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government was warned more than two years ago that it had to take action to counter threats from state actors like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, says a summary of a secret cabinet document made public by the foreign interference inquiry Monday.

The government was also warned that hostile activity by state actors (HASA) was on the rise and presented «one of the greatest threats to Canada's national security.»

«It described HASA as a multi-faceted threat that targets Canada's strategic interests, the integrity and the security of Canadian institutions and democratic processes, and the ability for members of the public to exercise their Charter-protected rights and freedoms,» says the summary of the memorandum written in May 2022.

The summary said the intelligence community had seen the threats increase in volume and intensity and Canada had to do a better job of countering them.

«Canada possesses tools and levers to counter HASA, but these tools require better coordination, and in some cases, modernization to address an increasingly dynamic, complex threat environment characterized by emboldened and aggressive threat actors,» the summary said. «The memorandum to cabinet also noted that in some cases, additional resources to bolster Canada's ability to respond to this threat are required.»

The memorandum proposed, among other things, making Canada a «harder, more resilient target by taking a whole-of-society approach,» taking concrete steps to deter HASA, considering new legislative tools to counter the activity and getting the RCMP to «develop new capabilities and undertake new activities.»

The document does not say what decision, if any, Trudeau's government took in response to the