As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

The Government of Canada should work with its European partners and allies, including in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to reinforce a rules-based international order and to strengthen liberal democratic norms and institutions, and within United Nations fora to reinforce and strengthen a rules-based international order.

Recommendation 2

As part of its international support for democratic development, the Government of Canada should support projects that would strengthen parliaments in European democracies that continue to face challenges as a result of post-Soviet and post-Communist legacies.

Recommendation 3

The Government of Canada should engage with governments, civil society organizations and academic institutions in Europe to develop new, and to reinforce existing, academic partnerships and youth-oriented exchanges.

Recommendation 4

The Parliament of Canada should look to create a youth parliamentary internship program in the House of Commons for nascent democracies which would, over multiple years, provide training in the fundamental principles and practices of liberal democracy.

Recommendation 5

The Government of Canada should review the diplomatic resources earmarked for EU- and NATO-member states, especially in the nascent democracies where additional support for civil society and democratic institutions may be required. As part of this review, the Government of Canada should look at whether dedicated, in-country embassies would better serve these requirements.

Recommendation 6

The Government of Canada should increase the financial envelope available for the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives so that Canadian diplomatic missions in Europe can fund projects specifically related to democracy and democratic governance.

Recommendation 7

The Government of Canada should enhance its bilateral and multilateral engagement with its European partners and allies in support of democratic governance and peace-building in the Balkans.

Recommendation 8

The Government of Canada should, using our electoral missions and practices in Ukraine between 2004 and 2019 as an example, look for opportunities to engage in numerically substantive long-term and short-term election monitoring in European democracies that face challenges as a result of post-Soviet and post-Communist legacies, as well as in other regions of the world where democratic processes are at risk.

Recommendation 9

The Government of Canada should continue to work, and expand its engagement on an ongoing basis, such as through the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism Coordination Unit and other means, with its allies to counter disinformation campaigns and digital distortion. As part of this effort, the Government of Canada should work with its G7 allies to fulfil the commitments of the Charlevoix Commitment on Defending Democracy from Foreign Threats.

Recommendation 10

The Government of Canada should strengthen and increase its work within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, focusing on the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, to continually review and develop mechanisms to counter disinformation, digital distortion and cyber-attacks that are targeted against Allied countries.