No Lawmakers ‘Compromised,’ Elizabeth May Tells MPs Debating Release of Names of Alleged Foreign Colluders

Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May speaks at a news conference on Feb.14, 2023 in Ottawa. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May urged colleague MPs not to advocate for the release of names of parliamentarians reportedly involved in foreign interference, saying doing so would jeopardize national security, and that to her knowledge, no lawmakers are “compromised.”

May made the comments during a rare appearance at the House of Commons public safety committee on Oct. 18. Back in June, she had provided different information, saying that fewer than a handful of MPs “may be compromised” after she read a bombshell report from a national security watchdog committee composed of MPs and senators.

The public safety committee was meeting urgently to discuss starting a new study on India’s interference in Canada. Canada expelled six Indian diplomats this week amid allegations from the RCMP that Indian government agents were involved in “serious criminal activity” in Canada including murder and extortion.

A motion from NDP MP Alistair MacGregor to study the matter and call the RCMP and relevant ministers and officials to testify was adopted unanimously.

A subsequent motion tabled by MacGregor asking for all party leaders to get security clearances was met with resistance from the Conservative side, which presented an amendment requesting the names of parliamentarians colluding with foreign states be publicly released.

“No one currently serving in Parliament, to my knowledge, in the House of Commons, has been compromised or is serving the interest of a foreign government,” May told the committee during debate on the amendment.

“There are some people who have been referenced as ’semi-witting,' but even the number, the numerical categorization of how many people might fall in that category, I was told clearly could not be said publicly without placing at risk the lives of our intelligence assets around the world.”

May has a Top Secret security clearance and read the unredacted version of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) report released in June.

The report, based on approximately 4,000 documents, concluded that some lawmakers and party candidates have been “semi-witting or witting participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics.”

May held a press conference in June after reading the NSICOP report and said the issue had been “overblown.” She also said some MPs had been the “beneficiaries of foreign governments interfering in nomination contests.”

Conservatives called on the government to release the names of the lawmakers involved in foreign interference after the NSICOP report was published. The government opposed the move, saying it would jeopardize national security and due process.

The confrontation died down after the House voted to refer the issue to the Foreign Interference Commission for examination. All the MPs supported the motion except for May and her Green Party colleague Mike Morrice.

The matter ignited again this week when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the commission he could name some Conservatives engaged in foreign interference.

“I have the names of a number of parliamentarians, former parliamentarians, and/or candidates in the Conservative Party of Canada who are engaged or at high risk of, or for whom there is clear intelligence around foreign interference,” he said on Oct. 16.

Trudeau made the comment while being asked by a commission counsel how he reacts when provided with information on foreign interference involving opposition parties. The prime minister later said in cross-examination by the Conservative Party lawyer that he also knows the names of parliamentarians and candidates in other parties who were at risk of being compromised, including the Liberal Party.

Debate on Security Clearance

Trudeau also criticized Tory leader Pierre Poilievre for not seeking to obtain a national security clearance, saying Poilievre would be able to receive classified briefings if he did so.

Poilievre has argued in the past that receiving the security clearance could prevent him from speaking freely and criticizing the government on foreign interference issues.

In response to Trudeau’s testimony, Poilievre said this week that there are legal provisions allowing him to be briefed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service about foreign interference risks. He also said his chief of staff has been receiving classified briefings from the government and wasn’t told about Tories “knowingly participating in foreign interference.”

At the public safety committee on Oct. 18, Tory MP Dane Lloyd said a motion pushing party leaders to get a clearance is an attempt to “muzzle the leader of the Opposition from speaking out on the very important issue of foreign interference.”

MacGregor suggested to the committee that if Poilievre obtained a clearance he could receive information which could help filter out future problematic candidates.

On the issue of the release of names of lawmakers involved in foreign interference, MacGregor supported in essence the Tories’ amendment. He suggested a sub-amendment to include language saying the names should be released “while protecting national security.”

“We would love for the Canadian public to know these names,” said MacGregor. “I hate the fact that I have to serve in the House of Commons with this cloud of suspicious hanging over us, I think Canadians deserve to know.”

Liberal MP Iqwander Gaheer opposed releasing the names, saying doing would be akin to asking that the prime minister “engage in a criminal offence.”

The committee was suspended before a vote could take place on MacGregor’s second motion and related requested modifications. The committee is meeting again on Oct. 22.