In our new Emerging Voices series by students, this is the second of five articles by students at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University.

Naveen Kanwadia

June 16, 2022

Canada’s ability to tackle emerging geopolitical threats is predicated on leveraging the security alliances underpinned by its southern neighbor. However, the growing complexities of cyberspace have created challenges that Canada needs to rapidly prepare itself for, especially information warfare, as the battles of the future will be fought as much in the cyberverse as they will be contested on land, air, and sea.

Those still debating the primacy of digital space in strategic affairs need not look beyond the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which has changed the rules of engagement forever as the technological aspects of warfare have taken over tactical superiority. It is worth noting that Russia’s belligerence against Ukraine did not begin with military build-up on the eastern front. It had its origins in the massive disinformation war launched by Russia since the invasion of Crimea and the Donbas region in 2014.

This years-long active information manipulation campaign launched by Kremlin not only built acceptance among the Russian populace for military operations but also helped the Putin regime to create justifications, albeit sham ones, for the current invasion. The use of cyberspace to rattle the Ukrainian state and society was exacerbated in the run-up to the assault with massive “denial of service” attacks targeted at shutting down Ukraine’s information and communications backbone, coupled with hacking of government databases. None of these machinations, however, have lowered the resolve of the Ukrainian people, who have turned the tables on Russia in cyberspace by successfully reaching out to anti-war Russians. This only shows that a well-executed strategy combined with nimble operations is a feasible defence policy in the digital era.

So, what does the Russia-Ukraine story mean for Canada? Simple answer, a thousand ringing bells. And why can that be said? A quick answer is our proximity to Russian territory in the Arctic, which is becoming increasingly accessible due to global warming and the fact that Czar Putin pulls no punches when talking about his Arctic plans. Let us also not forget that Canada was subjected to 150 percent more cyber-attacks in the first half of 2021 than the previous year, and this stresses the urgency of developing a comprehensive response at the earliest.

In the case of Western liberal democratic societies like Canada, dangers multiply as we guarantee internet freedoms by legally protecting them. This incentivizes foreign-sponsored rogue actors to use our freedoms against us by sharpening divides and even attempting to influence electoral outcomes. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) points out that in elections in the recent past, there were substantial efforts made by foreign actors to influence Canada’s democratic processes. Legal experts have pointed out that if it were not for the Election Modernization Act, foreign interference in our elections could have reached a much bigger scale.

Another reason informing Canada’s vulnerability is the relatively lax laws governing the tech space, especially social media platforms, in stark contrast to EU, where the proposed Digital Services Act seeks to limit the possibility of foreign manipulation through internet in cases of crisis such as war, terror, or pandemic. Due to such high stakes, it is vital that Canada develop legislative responses to minimize the chances of our democratic rights becoming an easy target for foreign agents.

The most effective way to do this will be to create legislative safeguards that authorize the federal government to seek take-down of content that it believes to be immediately detrimental to Canada’s national security. This in no way should be interpreted as transfer of online censorship powers to Ottawa, as the same law should make all such orders amenable to post-facto judicial review.

Some well-meaning citizens may argue that any such move is akin to transferring more power to the Leviathan. They may also advocate the continuance of self-regulation on the part of social media giants or at best expanding to co-regulation. They will also point out that these mechanisms are immune to allegations of state censorship and avoid government interference in user privacy. But then the question needs to be asked whether these approaches have worked in the past. Quite frankly, these are the tools that have failed time and again, one of the primary reasons behind the tabling of the Digital Charter Act.

Therefore, the danger is real and there’s no option for Canada but to stay vigilant and build systemic mechanisms that prevent foreign actors from turning our freedoms against us.

Naveen Kanwadia is a Master’s student at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and prior to starting his graduate studies, was handling public policy and regulatory affairs for The Walt Disney Co. in Asia.