Conservatives, Bloc ask Hogue Commission to probe treason allegations

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OTTAWA — The Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois are calling on Justice Marie-Josée Hogue to investigate allegations of treason by current and former parliamentarians.

In a letter sent Sunday to Hogue and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer wrote that his party was “shocked” by last week’s report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP).

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The report found that some MPs or senators are, “in the words of the intelligence services, ‘semi-witting or witting’ participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics,” with a former MP even meeting with an intelligence official in another country.

“The findings of the Special Report cannot be ignored,” wrote Scheer. “Canadians deserve to know if federal parliamentarians have knowingly engaged in activities on behalf of foreign governments that have undermined Canada’s national interest.”

“These findings have not been weighed and assessed by an independent body. This must be done immediately,” he added.

More specifically, Scheer suggested that the Hogue Commission could be asked to “issue a finding of fact” for each case where an MP has “knowingly” participated in foreign interference activities and report back to Parliament no later than Oct. 1.

He said those findings “would not constitute findings of criminal guilt,” but would rather serve as an “aid” to the House of Commons, the Senate and each political party whose members could be implicated — and, above all, the Canadians public.

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“If Canadians are to continue to have faith in their federal democratic institutions, they need to know who has broken their oath and betrayed their trust,” wrote Scheer.

Hogue is the head of the commission examining allegations of foreign interference by China, India, Russia or others in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

In her interim report in May, Hogue said she did not believe meddling undermined the integrity of the elections or affected which party won government. However, she did conclude it could have affected the result in a specific riding.

Spokespeople for Hogue and LeBlanc were not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, the Bloc was using its opposition day motion on Monday to request that the terms of reference of the commission be expanded “to allow it to investigate Canada’s federal democratic institutions,” including former and current MPs and senators.

“The Liberal government must understand that its duty is to protect us, not to protect itself. It must stop its strategy of avoiding answering serious questions and take off its pink-coloured glasses. Why? Because it’s not 2015 anymore,” said Bloc MP René Villemure.

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Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said Hogue already has a “solid mandate” and reminded MPs that the commission’s terms of reference were negotiated and approved by all recognized parties in the House.

“Though it is not up to the House to give instructions to the commissioner on the way she carries out her mandate, we think she has the authority she needs to carry out her important work,” said MacKinnon, who said he welcomed Monday’s debate.

Hogue is expected to publish her final report, which will contain recommendations on how to “detect, deter and counter” foreign interference, by the end of December.

The Bloc’s motion will be put to a vote on Tuesday afternoon.

More details to come…

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