Remember all the hoo-hah a few months ago about foreign interference in the Canadian electoral and political systems? There was talk of the "witting and semi-witting" participation of Canadian politicians in political meddling by Chinese, Indian, Russian and a bunch of other ne'erdowells. Hell, there was even talk of "traitors" and treason".
It was a big deal, and there was much tearing of hair and soul-searching, and not a little finger-pointing and partisan shouting. A detailed and wide-ranging public inquiry was called for.
Well, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue's final report has just been released and the conclusions are ... well, "underwhelming" is the word that springs to mind. There is absolutely "no evidence of 'traitors' " among Canadian lawmakers, and the country's democratic institutions remain "robust in the face of foreign interference" attempts. It's all a bit of a let-down quite honestly.
Some of the more outré claims and allegations should probably be walked back, preferably with apologies. But don't expect that in today's polarized, hyper-partisan atmosphere.
Mind you, Mme. Hogue didn't give a complete unconditional pass. She notes that some politicians had been found to be "behaving naively" and displaying "questionable" ethics and "concerning conduct", but nothing that had not been happening for many years previously. The few attempts to curry favour with lawmakers remain "margin and largely ineffective", and there is no need for "widespread alarm". Critically, the results of the last two elections were not swayed by any of the antics of foreign actors.
She did also make 51 recommendations to further safeguard future elections, most of which will be implemented in time for the next federal election in just a few short months' time. She also pointed to the general climate of nastiness and disinformation that has become the norm now, since Trump's successes with it south of the border, suggesting that this is probably a much bigger problem than direct interference by state actors.
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