This week in ‘What will Tom Mulcair say next?’

Didn’t catch Canada’s weekend politics shows? Here’s what you missed. This is an excerpt from today’s Politics Insider newsletter, which you can read here.

• The Trudeau government may have introduced a host of measures to help counter foreign misinformation from influencing the next federal election, but the Minister responsible for the changes warned that in the whack-a-mole battle against meddlers, some fake news and interference will still get through. “By the very nature of foreign interference, the idea of it is to be covert,” Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould said on CBC’s The House. “There’s a good chance we’ll be able to detect something, but there’s also the possibility that we won’t because foreign actors are trying to be smarter.” (CBC News)

• Over on CTV’s Question Period Ralph Goodale argued the government’s election protection plan will work, even though only one part of the plan had any funding attached to it. “There will be new money for these agencies going forward to do their total job. … I will make sure they have the cash they need to do the job.” (CTV News)

• Apparently Tom Mulcair didn’t get the message from NDP hopeful Svend Robinson to “button it” when it comes to talking smack about the party’s prospects under leader Jagmeet Singh. Mulcair says the Green’s could eat the NDP’s progressive lunch: “Progressives are looking for a home on environmental issues,” Mulcair said on Question Period. “Now people are seeing the Liberals, who talked a good game on environment, buying a pipeline for $4.5 billion, wanting more production in the oilsands. Mr. Singh has now decided he’s going to support a liquefied natural gas pipeline, so people who believe that environmental issues should be top of mind are…going to start paying attention to Elizabeth May’s Green Party.” (CTV News)

• Later today Canada will host a meeting of the Lima Group of nations to discuss ways to pressure Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to step aside. With Donald Trump threatening military intervention, a former Canadian ambassador to Venezuela says the summit should urge outside powers to de-escalate. “It’s totally irresponsible for outside powers to be threatening military intervention,” Ben Roswell, president of the Canadian International Council, said on Global TV’s West Block. “I’m not sure it would necessarily lead to a change in Russian behaviour or Chinese behaviour or to Donald Trump holding his mouth shut — it’s very difficult for him to do — but it would send a signal that the region is united behind there being a peaceful transition in power.” (Global News)

• Today’s Lima Group meeting “will be significant in terms of putting extra pressure on for a [regime] change,” said long-time senior diplomat Peter Boehm on CBC’s The House. “If we respect the rules-based international order, it’s up to us to rally support for change that will hopefully be peaceful.” (CBC News)