A federal inquiry into foreign interference begins a week of hearings today on the preliminary point of how to handle the shroud of official secrecy around the controversial issue.
The inquiry says the initial five days of hearings will help identify ways to make information public, even though much of it comes from classified documents and sources.
The discussions on national security and confidentiality of information will help set the stage for the next public hearings, likely to take place at the end of March.
The March hearings are intended to delve into allegations of foreign interference by China, India, Russia and others in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, with a report on these matters due May 3.
The inquiry will then turn to policy issues, looking at the ability of the government to detect, deter and counter foreign interference targeting Canada's democratic processes.
A final report is due by the end of the year.