(Ottawa) The leaders of all parties in the House of Commons have a duty to take the necessary measures to ensure that no member of the political party they lead is under the influence of a foreign state.
It is for this reason that the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, is now considering obtaining the security clearance required to be able to consult secret information collected by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) which point the finger at certain parliamentarians who are essentially in the pay of a foreign state according to a hard-hitting report published Monday.
“If there are people who are under influence in the current Parliament, I want to set an example,” said Mr. Blanchet in an interview with La Presse.
He said he hoped that other leaders, notably the leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, would follow suit.
According to the Bloc leader, it would be “irresponsible” for Pierre Poilievre not to take the same step given that his caucus has 118 MPs in the Commons and a dozen senators in the Upper House.
Last year, Mr. Blanchet refused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s offer to obtain this security clearance after the tabling of the report by independent special rapporteur David Johnston on foreign interference. Mr. Trudeau made this offer to all the leaders of the parties recognized in the Commons to help them better understand the information collected by CSIS.
Pierre Poilievre had also declined the offer. Only the leader of the NDP, Jagmeet Singh, had accepted it.
MM. Blanchet and Poilievre had justified this decision by saying that it constituted a kind of “trap” because they would be prohibited from communicating this information publicly without exposing themselves to serious sanctions.
“Things have now evolved a lot,” said Mr. Blanchet, explaining the steps he will take to find out the terms and conditions for obtaining the security clearance.
On Monday, the Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security and Intelligence dropped a real political bomb in Ottawa. In a report that is still making waves, the committee asserts that parliamentarians are “half-willing or half-willing participants” in efforts by foreign states to carry out interference activities on Canadian soil.
The committee gives some examples. Parliamentarians have “knowingly or willfully ignored” accepted funds or benefits from foreign missions. Others sought help from foreign missions to obtain the support of a diaspora during the elections. Parliamentarians have provided foreign diplomats with inside information about the work or opinions of colleagues. Still others relayed information learned in confidence from the government to a known intelligence agent of a foreign state.
The committee did not publish the names of the parliamentarians in question since this information is based on intelligence collected by CSIS which cannot be disclosed.
Mr. Blanchet also judges that it would be “irresponsible” to do so. “It would be the equivalent of conviction without trial. I have no pity for anyone who collaborates with foreign powers. But it must be demonstrated before cracking down. »
That said, the Bloc leader said he expected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ensure that “if there are MPs within his caucus who are under foreign influence, they will not be candidates in the next election “.
“If he doesn’t do it and there are possibly procedures put in place and there is indeed something criminal that is made public, he will pay a heavy political price and so will the Liberal Party,” said assert Mr. Blanchet
The approach that Mr. Blanchet intends to take is similar to that suggested by the director of CSIS, David Vigneault, before a parliamentary committee on Thursday.
At Pierre Poilievre’s office, a spokesperson, Marion Ringuette, said that the Conservative leader still does not intend to obtain the security clearance.
“If an MP were to receive such a briefing, then they would be bound to secrecy about what they learned. It would also mean not acting on what was learned in this briefing, as it would risk revealing the classified methods of Canadian security agencies. It is up to the government to act, and it starts with the Prime Minister. Canadians deserve the truth,” she said.