(Ottawa) New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh is unwilling to break ranks with the minority Liberal government, even after criticizing the Prime Minister for his failure to protect Canadian democracy.
According to Mr. Singh, there is every reason to believe that Justin Trudeau is willing to accept a certain level of foreign interference, which weakens democracy and undermines the confidence of Canadians.
He made the comments after reviewing the unredacted report from the Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security and Intelligence, which indicates that a number of MPs knowingly provided aid to foreign governments – information that Justin Trudeau has been available for months.
“He may not agree with this information, but I think he didn’t take the steps he should have taken to deal with this situation,” Mr. Singh said. He sent the message that he is willing to accept a certain level of foreign interference. »
The report is based on highly classified information, which does not paint a complete picture and does not constitute evidence.
A spokesman for the Conservative opposition said that if Jagmeet Singh is truly concerned that Mr. Trudeau will fail to protect democracy, he should withdraw his support for the Liberals and let them face Canadians in an election.
But the NDP leader indicated his party would not abandon the confidence and supply agreement that keeps the minority government in power.
“The suggestion that elections are a solution to election interference is, I think, wrong,” Mr. Singh said.
Multiple investigations found that foreign interference did not threaten Canada’s ability to hold free and fair elections in 2019 and 2021.
However, the intelligence community considers Canada to be a permissive environment, where foreign actors have the leisure to pursue their strategic interests.
Mr. Singh says his party will continue to use the tools available to parliamentarians to find solutions to combat foreign interference, but he has not specified what will be done.
Insufficient measures
The Liberal government has taken various measures to protect Canadian democracy against foreign interference, the Committee found in its report last week.
However, he concluded that these measures have not been sufficiently effective and that there is a persistent disconnect between the severity of the threat in Canada and the efforts to counter it.
The committee believes this gap explains why foreign governments – such as those of China and India – continue to view Canadian elections and institutions as easy targets to advance their agenda.
Mr Singh was the second opposition party leader to view an unexpurgated version of the report, after the Green Party’s Elizabeth May. Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet said he would request an information session, while Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre refused to request the required security clearance.
“I was happy that Mr Singh accepted the government’s offer to read the report. I would like Mr. Poilievre to do the same thing,” Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Friday in Moncton, New Brunswick.
He argued that the best way to reassure Canadians about allegations of foreign interference surrounding some unnamed parliamentarians is to allow the judge who is leading an independent investigation to review the information.
The intelligence is far from proof, LeBlanc said, adding that he thinks it is “very dangerous” to talk about naming names without having “a higher degree of reliability.”
A wide-ranging government bill on foreign interference is before the Senate after passing the House of Commons this week.
The legislation would introduce new criminal provisions against deceptive or clandestine acts, establish a transparency registry on foreign influence and allow the sharing of sensitive information with companies and others outside the government.
The government said it hoped the bill would be passed before Parliament’s summer recess.