Parliamentarians and foreign interference | We will have to rely on the RCMP, insists the author of the report

(Ottawa) The chairman of the committee behind the report evoking examples of collaboration between parliamentarians and foreign states, the liberal David McGuinty, persists and signs: it is impossible to go further than the content of the document. There is therefore no question of identifying parliamentarians who are in the pay of foreign state entities.

“The question about what happens next is for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP],” said Wednesday the one who chairs the Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security and Intelligence (CPSNR).

It will therefore be up to the federal police to determine, based on the security information it has in its possession, “whether it should move on to another stage or not,” continued David McGuinty.

Because the members of the committee are bound to secrecy in perpetuity under the Protection of Information Act, he recalled.

In short, if they reveal top-secret information consulted in the course of their duties, they are exposed to criminal prosecution.

The same goes for those who, like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, learned of the explosive report which created a certain climate of suspicion on Parliament Hill.

The document does not identify the parliamentarians who would collaborate with foreign states, nor does it specify their number or political affiliation.

The redaction process was carried out with extreme rigor, argued MP McGuinty in the press scrum upon his arrival for the weekly meeting of the Liberal caucus.

He suggested that Bill C-70, which aims to strengthen Canada’s arsenal to fight foreign interference, may not go far enough.

“It’s an encouraging first step,” said the Ontario elected official shortly before rushing into the caucus room where the Liberal caucus meets every week.

Will we be more on our guard in light of the content of the explosive report published last Monday?

The Liberal elected officials intercepted in the corridor leading to this room did not express any fear in this regard. However, they did not downplay the seriousness of the matter.