Good thing Canadians discussing foreign interference: NSICOP

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OTTAWA — The Liberal head of the intelligence oversight committee that made the explosive revelation that some MPs are “wittingly” collaborating with foreign powers says it is “unfortunate” that reactions are focused on “small elements of the review.”

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, David McGuinty seemed disappointed that the overall focus of the report published by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) last week was not on the bigger picture of foreign interference.

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“This review addresses federal, provincial, municipal politics. It addresses universities, boardroom tables, community associations, NGOs (non-government organizations), right across the entirety of Canadian society,” he said before meeting with his party’s caucus.

McGuinty, however, said he welcomed the many questions on foreign interference raised by the report and invited all Canadians to take the time to read the committee’s work.

“It’s a good thing that Canadians are being exposed to the reality of foreign interference,” he said. “Who was driving it? In what forms? What tactics? Where? How do we guard ourselves against this? How do we make ourselves resilient?”

Speaking to the Commons procedure committee on Tuesday, Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director David Vigneault said that ongoing public discussions about foreign interference are “essential” for Canadians.

“It ensures that we protect ourselves better against foreign interference and all other threats, which are numerous” he said.

“We are, CSIS and partners, putting more resources and emphasis on this because we have seen the threat increasing in the last number of years, we have seen a number of actors coming at it much more aggressively and doing things that we had not seen before,” Vigneault added.

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The NSICOP report said that some parliamentarians are “‘semi-witting or witting’ participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics.” It also mentioned the case of a former MP who proactively provided privileged information to a foreign operative.

Those alarming revelations prompted the Opposition and an array of political commentators to call on the Liberal government to release a list of names of MPs and Senators who have knowingly worked against Canada’s interests.

But the Green Party’s Elizabeth May, who was the first party leader to read the unredacted report, said on Tuesday she did not see a “list” of names, nor did she think any current MPs acted in a way that was disloyal to Canada.

May, however, said that the former MP who collaborated with a foreign power should be fully investigated and prosecuted, and that their name should come out.

Some Liberals hinted that May helped take some pressure off their government by sharing her take on the unredacted report.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commended May, who he said “took on the responsibilities as party leader, got her security clearance and did the work,” while at the same time criticizing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for choosing not to read the unredacted report.

Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said he commends May for “shining the light where there is none,” while Liberal MP John McKay said she “provided a bit of a service to us all,” and that he appreciated “Elizabeth doing that.”

McGuinty said that the fact that May “is out talking about this is a good thing.”

While testifying before a Senate committee Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the conversation over the report and the focus on naming MPs or Senators is exactly the type of conversation that people targeting Canada’s democracy are aiming for.

“Those that are seeking to undermine public confidence in our democracies would be quite pleased with the discussion that’s taking place in a partisan context now about whether Senator so-and-so, or MP so-and-so was in fact the person who did something,” he said.

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LeBlanc stressed to Senators that intelligence, including the information contained in the NSICOP report, is not evidence and often shifts as more information comes in. He said the calls for the government to name a list of suspect MPs or Senators misses this point.

“To take a raw piece of information that may come from one uncorroborated source and pretend that should judge a particular parliamentarians’ service to the country is in my view, extremely dangerous,” he said.

“The naming and shaming is, I think, a dangerous concept for us to embark on. It’s not something that this government will do.”

McGuinty said NSICOP has been raising flags and providing recommendations to the government on how to counter foreign interference since 2018.

He said the committee has told the government to broaden the role of the ethics commissioner to “tighten up” responsibilities on foreign interference or to conduct detailed briefings for parliamentarians to better protect themselves against it.

He also mentioned telling the government to consider Elections Canada as a possible organization to oversee nominations and leadership campaigns.

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“Folks, it’s all there in black and white. There’s a pathway forward. Every recommendation and finding have been carefully crafted. We don’t pull this out of a hat,” he said.

With files from Christopher Nardi.

National Post
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