BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) was pleased to participate in the Foreign Interference Commission’s public consultation process. Given broad direction to explore and investigate with extended advisors Ryan Rutley complied the following submission.
The Commission is investigating threats to Canadian democracy from foreign interference and assessing the Canadian government’s capacity to defend against it. In response to the Commission’s call for submissions, FIPA has warned of a critical gap in law leaving Canadians’ sensitive personal information vulnerable to foreign interference.
Foreign actors have targeted political parties and candidates to interfere with their political campaigns and improperly access personal information under their control. At a national level, Canadian law excludes federal political parties and candidates from the privacy obligations and independent oversight that apply to corporations and public bodies. This exclusion means the sensitive personal information political parties hold is both less protected and highly valuable to foreign actors. When foreign actors gain access to Canadians’ personal information, they often use it for mis-, dis-, and malinformation campaigns that aim to undermine democratic institutions.
The threat of foreign interference means Canada should embrace pro-democracy solutions that prioritize the protection of privacy. Any personal information that foreign actors cannot access is information they cannot use to undermine Canada’s electoral processes and democratic institutions.
FIPA hopes that our submission will support the Committee’s work and help clarify the impact of foreign interference on federal elections and democratic institutions.
For more information on the role of privacy in elections, see FIPA’s Your Political Privacy guide here: https://fipa.bc.ca/ypp/
