Ottawa setting up new team to warn Canadians of potential election interference

The Canadian government is setting up an internal team to sound the alarm if it sees evidence the October federal election is being undermined.

Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould made multiple announcements Wednesday regarding potential threats to Canada’s democratic process. She spoke alongside Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in Ottawa.

To ward off the type of threats that tainted the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Brexit vote, the government is setting up a new “critical election incident public protocol” group — five bureaucrats who will alert the public if they become aware of interference during the campaign period, also known as the writ period.

The panel will be made up of:

• The Clerk of the Privy Council.
• The federal national security and intelligence adviser.
• The deputy minister of justice.
• The deputy minister of public safety.
• The deputy minister of Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

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Catharine Tunney – CBC News – Jan 30, 2019.