(Ottawa) The report that parliamentarians helped foreign states to interfere in Canadian politics continues to flare up, while the Conservatives pressed Minister Dominic LeBlanc to reveal the names of the MPs allegedly in the pay of foreign state entities.
The appearance of Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc at the Standing Committee on Public and National Security gave rise to acrimonious exchanges on Thursday morning.
Insistantly, and repeatedly, Conservative MP Frank Caputo urged him to reveal the identity of elected officials who would have committed reprehensible actions before the next federal election campaign.
Exasperated with following up on Minister LeBlanc, who refused to grant this request, he went so far as to accuse the latter of concealing the information for partisan purposes.
“Let’s be honest: I think that if there were six MPs on this list […]we would have the names,” he said.
Minister LeBlanc said he regretted that his interlocutor was “inventing things”, later accusing another Conservative MP of making “theater” at the committee table.
“I will not violate the Information Protection Act and expose myself to prosecution for a political maneuver,” he said.
During the exchange, Liberal MP Jennifer O’Connell began loudly heckling her Conservative opponents.
And when conservative Garnett Genuis asked the president to call her to order, she was heard shouting: “Boo hoo, get over it!” “.
Bill C-70
The House of Commons committee is currently dissecting Bill C-70, which aims to strengthen Canada’s arsenal to fight foreign interference.
The study of the legislative measure, which had already been agreed to be carried out in an accelerated version, is obviously colored by the publication of a hard-hitting report on foreign interference.
According to the document from the Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security and Intelligence (CPSNR), Canadian parliamentarians “knowingly” contribute to the interference efforts of foreign states.
The committee in question is made up of three Liberals, two Conservatives, a Bloc member, a New Democrat and three independent senators.
They have a top secret level security clearance, in addition to being bound to secrecy in perpetuity under the Information Protection Act.
This is why “what happens next is up to the RCMP [Gendarmerie royale du Canada] », pleaded yesterday the Liberal MP David McGuinty, president of the CPSNR.
Federal police reported Wednesday that investigations “into various types of foreign interference in Canada, particularly in the context of matters affecting democratic institutions” were underway.
The RCMP, however, refused to say whether parliamentarians were the subject.