Canada is “not ready” to deal with the growing threats from outside and should review its national security policy, according to a recent report by experts on the subject.
The country has reportedly become negligent in protecting its national security, including countering Russian aggression, China’s growing influence and the rise of the far right in Canada.
“Canada is not ready for this new world. As a country, we must urgently rethink national security”, is it possible to read from the first page of this report published on Tuesday.
Four former national security advisers, two directors of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, retired ambassadors and deputy ministers, and academics contributed to this study by the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs University of Ottawa.
And their first observation is that the Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrates the direct threats to Canada’s interests. China could also pose a longer-term challenge, experts say.
“China and Russia will continue to pose a significant threat to Canada through foreign interference, disinformation, espionage, hostage diplomacy and cyberattacks.”
“Our lack of a firm response also presents a serious risk to our allies and could affect security and intelligence relations with them,” it said.
The threats would not only come from the international, since a thorough examination of the rise of the extreme right in Canada and the United States is also recommended after the events of the freedom convoy at the beginning of the year.
“It may not have amounted to foreign interference in the classic sense, since it was not by a foreign government. But it represented, arguably, a greater threat to Canadian democracy than the actions of any state other than the United States.
“It will be a significant challenge for our national security and intelligence agencies to monitor this threat since it emanates from the same country that is by far our main source of intelligence.”
In addition to joining international security pacts, the report suggests that Canada adopt the same modern spy tools used by its “Five Eyes” partners, namely the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
“Canada cannot isolate itself from the many and varied threats to national security. Our “fireproof” house is gone. It must be the same with our complacency, ”concluded the specialists.