Richmond elections are determined by Canadians and nobody else, asserts MP Parm Bains

PARM Bains, MP for Steveston-Richmond East, on Tuesday asserted that “the 2021 federal election in Richmond was free and fair” and that “an educated public is an essential line of defence to help identify, counter, and prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation.”

In a statement, Bains said: “For the past three years, Richmond became a political victim in the national conversation on foreign interference, which led to unfair targeting of our local diaspora communities. Last week, the Foreign Interference Commission published the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions report, which stated clearly to Canadians what our community has always known. The 2021 federal election in Richmond was free and fair.

“The Commission was created to investigate the strength of our electoral systems a  claims there were MPs that owed their election wins to foreign powers. While the threat of foreign interference is real, these accusations proved to have no merit as affirmed by Hon. Justice Marie–Josee Hogue.

“To combat the rise in foreign interference from hostile and friendly nations, I immediately committed myself to protecting our community from this serious threat, and from those who took aim to undermine the results of the 2021 election.

“As your MP, and as a member of the House of Commons Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics (ETHI), the process of informing and engaging the public began with our study on Foreign Interference. One of the key findings in our study spoke to the threat misinformation and disinformation pose to vulnerable communities, and the need to properly educate Canadians.

“A fundamental problem that allowed foreign influence claims to surge was the lack of information available to Canadians on the threat of foreign interference, and what the government is doing to counter it.

“My work on the ETHI committee, combined with debates in the House, accounted for over 200 personal interventions related to strengthening our democratic institutions, including the following important measures:

“1. Private Member Motion – 112 (M-112)
“Political Interference, Violence, or Intimidation on Canadian Soil
“I co-drafted and seconded the unanimously passed M-112, introduced by MP Sukh Dhaliwal, to recognize and immediately review cooperative agreements with various foreign states where we share security intelligence. To protect democratic institutions, maintain the rule of law, and prevent violence and terrorism, to ensure that diaspora communities are protected from acts of political interference, violence, or intimidation on Canadian soil.

“2. Bill C – 70 An Act respecting countering foreign interference.
“Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act (FITAA)
“FITAA passed unanimously to amend, after almost 40 years, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, the Criminal Code, the Security of Information Act, and the Canada Evidence Act. New offences were established, and many of the ETHI study recommendations our committee reported were adopted in the FITAA. This included strengthening enforcement under the Security of Information Act.

“Canada is a rich and influential country, and there are bad actors in many nations, some unfriendly and some friendly, that want to influence our politics. Times are changing. Rising global conflict, instability, and hostility require new safeguards to protect our democracy. This includes pushing back on attempts to divide and misinform Canadians through mass media platforms.

“An educated public is an essential line of defence to help identify, counter, and prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation. I will continue to push for stronger frameworks to provide that education and modernize legislation as Parliament did last year with the Security of Information Act and CSIS Act, which gives our security and intelligence agencies the enforcement and investigative tools they need to protect Canadians.”

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