Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government was warned more than two years ago that it had to take action to counter threats from state actors like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, says a summary of a secret cabinet document made public by the foreign interference inquiry Monday.
The government was also warned that hostile activity by state actors (HASA) was on the rise and presented “one of the greatest threats to Canada’s national security.”
“It described HASA as a multi-faceted threat that targets Canada’s strategic interests, the integrity and the security of Canadian institutions and democratic processes, and the ability for members of the public to exercise their Charter-protected rights and freedoms,” says the summary of the memorandum written in May 2022.