The final report from the foreign-interference inquiry finds a “very small number” of cases where foreign meddling may have influenced the outcome of nomination races or riding-level elections, but “no evidence to suggest that our institutions have been seriously affected.”
However, in her seven-volume report released Tuesday, Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Marie-Josée Hogue said the federal government has failed to take foreign interference seriously, and to act quickly or effectively respond to it.
“The government must step up its efforts in educating and informing the public about foreign interference,” she wrote. “So far, its efforts in this regard have been piecemeal and underwhelming.”
Her report raises the alarm on the insidious effect of disinformation campaigns on social media.
“It is no exaggeration to say that at this juncture, information manipulation (whether foreign or not) poses the single biggest risk to our democracy. It is an existential threat,” she wrote.
Here are five takeaways.