(Ottawa) The federal Minister of Democratic Institutions, Dominic LeBlanc, confirms his intention to entrust a permanent commission of inquiry with the task of examining allegations of collusion between MPs and foreign interference agents.
But he does not accept, at least for the moment, a senator’s request to give Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue the power to publicly name the deputies involved.
The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians said in a public report last week that some MPs knowingly aided efforts by foreign states to interfere in Canadian politics.
Questioned before a committee by Senator Claude Carignan, Mr. LeBlanc said that the government would give Ms.me Hogue the “appropriate mandate” to examine the matter.
He said, however, that the idea of the commission publicly releasing names is “a question of law,” adding that he did not want to “put an opinion before such an important judge” as Ms.me Hogue, who sits on the Quebec Court of Appeal.
Mr. Carignan argued that she should have “the power to name people if violations or offenses have been committed” and the power to send the matter to court so that criminal investigations can take place.
PHOTO JUSTIN TANG, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Senator Claude Carignan
Mr. LeBlanc responded that “this is not a yes or no question.”
The minister indicated that Mme Hogue would be given the necessary documentation to explore these questions, but no explicit instructions to draw conclusions about each deputy’s culpability.
The House of Commons voted Tuesday in favor of a Bloc Québécois motion for the federal investigation to examine the unproven accusations.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May
Green Party leader Elizabeth May, who has a top-secret security clearance, said Tuesday she was “extremely relieved” after reading an uncensored version of the report.
According to her, the deputies named there did not knowingly intend to betray Canada.
She argued that an unnamed former lawmaker accused in the report of proactively sharing privileged information with a foreign agent should be fully investigated by authorities.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet have also signaled their desire to be briefed on the intelligence watchdog’s full report.
Mr Singh was due to see the uncensored report on Wednesday evening and will comment on it on Thursday.
He assured that if the document showed that an NDP MP had knowingly participated in interference, he would be expelled from caucus. He suggested other party leaders take the same approach.
Asked if he would use his parliamentary privilege to disclose the full findings of the report to the House of Commons, Mr Singh said on Wednesday that he would not do “anything that would endanger national security”. .
For his part, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has not taken steps to obtain the security clearance necessary to read the full report.
As they gathered Wednesday for their weekly caucus meeting, Conservative MPs did not stop to answer reporters’ questions on the matter.