Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc affirmed a plan to have an ongoing commission of inquiry delve into allegations about MPs colluding with foreign meddlers.
But Mr. LeBlanc stopped short on June 12 of accepting a demand from one senator to give commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue the power to publicly name MPs involved in interference.
The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians said in a public report last week that some MPs wittingly assisted the efforts of foreign states to interfere in Canadian politics.
Under questioning at a committee from Sen. Claude Carignan, Mr. LeBlanc said the government would give Ms. Hogue the “appropriate mandate” to examine the issue of possible meddling by MPs.
But Mr. LeBlanc said in French the notion of the commission publicly disclosing names is “an issue of law,” adding he did not want to “advance an opinion to a judge as important” as Ms. Hogue, who sits on the Quebec Court of Appeal.
Mr. Carignan said Ms. Hogue must be given “the power to name people if violations, or offences, have been committed,” along with the power to refer matters so that criminal investigations can take place.
Mr. LeBlanc replied, “It’s not a question that can be answered with a yes or no.”
The minister indicated Ms. Hogue would be provided with the necessary documentation to explore the issues, but not explicit direction to make findings about the culpability of individual MPs.
The House of Commons voted on June 11 in favour of a Bloc Québécois motion to have the federal inquiry examine the unproven accusations.
The Green Party’s Elizabeth May, who has top secret-level security clearance, said on June 11 she was “vastly relieved” after reading an unredacted version of the report.
Ms. May, co-leader of the Greens, said she believes the small number of MPs named in the report did not knowingly set out to betray Canada.
She said one unnamed former MP accused in the report of proactively sharing privileged information with a foreign operative should be fully investigated by authorities.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet have also signalled their desire to be briefed on the full intelligence watchdog report.
Mr. Singh was slated to see the unredacted report on late June 12 and speak to the media on June 13 about what he has learned.
Mr. Singh has said that if the report shows any New Democrat MP knowingly took part in meddling, he would remove them from caucus. He has suggested other party leaders take the same approach.
Asked if he would use his parliamentary privilege to divulge the report’s full findings in the House of Commons, Mr. Singh said on June 12 he would “not do anything that jeopardizes national security.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has not taken steps to acquire the security clearance needed to read the full report.
As they met for their weekly caucus meeting on June 12, Conservative MPs did not stop to answer questions about whether Mr. Poilievre should read the report.
