NDP lawmakers are calling on the House of Commons to find a way to release the names of lawmakers implicated in the foreign interference report released earlier this month.
Rep. Jenny Kwan raised the issue of privilege in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, suggesting that the National Security Intelligence Committee (NSICOP) report had damaged the reputations of all sitting lawmakers.
The report, based on intelligence reports, alleges that some MPs have “semi-knowingly or knowingly” participated in foreign efforts to interfere in Canadian politics. The unredacted report does not specifically name the MPs.
Kwan said Canadians will lose confidence in their elected officials as long as the names of lawmakers identified in the report remain secret.
“No names are mentioned in the report, which leaves all 338 members of the House under a shadow of suspicion, including those who have since left this chamber,” Kwan said on Tuesday.
She said the matter should be referred to the House of Representatives Procedure Committee to consider ways in which names from the report could be released without compromising national security.
“These shocking revelations, without knowing who is implicated in each allegation, mean every member is tarnished and the reputation of the entire House is called into question,” Kwan said.
The Conservatives are pressuring the Liberals to release the names of the MPs named in the report, but Public Security Minister Dominic Leblanc has argued that would violate national security laws and has even suggested they could be arrested for leaking classified information.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Mark Flynn acknowledged at a House of Commons committee on Tuesday that if a government minister were to release an MP’s name in the NSICOP report, that MP would be charged with a criminal offence.
“We are clear that anyone who leaks classified information faces equal consequences of the law. In this case, the names of these individuals are currently classified and disclosing them publicly would be a criminal offence,” Mr Flynn told MPs on the Public Accounts Committee.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poirievre said the Liberal government could publish the names on the floor of the House of Commons, where MPs enjoy parliamentary privilege.
Asked by CBC News about the possibility of names being made public in the House of Commons, Flynn suggested it could be a grey area.
“Given the complexities of parliamentary privilege, this is a question that should be asked of legal experts,” Flynn said after the committee meeting on Tuesday.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh have read the same uncensored foreign interference report and drawn different conclusions, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he has “concerns” about some of the report’s findings. Former CSIS director Richard Fadden discusses the differing views of the party leaders and explains why he thinks these comments are “unenlightening” for Canadians.
Former CSIS Director Richard Faden told CBC News Network Power and politics On Tuesday, in response to the NSICOP report, he said Congress needed to do more to investigate parliamentary candidates’ involvement in foreign interference.
“What’s surprising about this is there’s no caucus of lawmakers looking at this issue at all,” Faden told host David Cochran.
Like Kwan, Fadden suggested a House committee look into the issue and get advice from judges and other legal experts on what can be made public.
“This is not entirely a security or intelligence issue or a national security issue, it’s an accountability issue,” he said.
Mr Faden also suggested party leaders could read the NSICOP report and take action against members of the party suspected of involvement.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May have security clearances and have seen an uncensored version of the report.
At separate press conferences last week, Prime Minister May and Prime Minister Singh expressed different impressions of the report.
While May said she was relieved to know her MP colleagues had not knowingly betrayed the country, Mr Singh said reading the report had left her even more disturbed.
Singh suggested there was no need to worry about his own party members. Power and politics On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cast doubt on the proposal.
“I would be wary of any party leader drawing that conclusion,” Trudeau said.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters that Conservative Leader Pierre Poirierbre would not be able to refuse to read the classified materials if he plans to become Canada’s prime minister in the future.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party had begun the process of obtaining the appropriate security clearances to review the unredacted report, but he criticized May and Singh for speaking so openly about it and said he would not speculate on its contents after seeing them.
“I want to make sure that nothing happens that puts my constituents at risk. That’s the only thing I need to know,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
So far, Conservative leader Pierre Poirierbre has resisted calls to obtain security clearance to read the classified report, suggesting it would hinder his ability to hold the government to account for foreign interference.
