Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she has reviewed a top-secret parliamentary report on foreign interference and that there is no “list” of sitting MPs who have been “disloyal” to Canada.
“I can say I have no worries about anyone in the House of Commons,” May told reporters Tuesday.
The Green Party leader has security clearance and requested to read the full version of the National Security Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ (NSICOP) report, which contained startling allegations that there are parliamentarians “wittingly” or “semi-wittingly” collaborating with foreign governments.
May discussed the NSICOP document Tuesday – the same day Parliament voted to expand the public inquiry into foreign interference to include the collusion allegations; a move some national security experts have criticized as a “delay tactic.”
The redacted NSICOP report was made public last Monday and did not include the identities of any parliamentarians or indicate whether they might be members of the House of Commons or the Senate. Since its release, pressure has mounted on the government to reveal their names.
The Conservatives have called for the release of their identities, but the Liberals say they can’t do that because they’re bound by Canada’s official secrets law.
“Having read the full unredacted National Security Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians report for myself … I am vastly relieved,” May said.
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However, she did point to one former MP, referenced in the document, who May says the report alleges “proactively shared privileged information with a foreign operative.”
May believes that person should be named and face consequences.
“This individual was entirely aware of the circumstances and was witting. That person, a former MP whose name is not included in the report, should be fully investigated, and prosecuted,” May said.
The Green Party leader said she knows which foreign government that former parliamentarian was reported to be working for but can’t reveal the country because of national security concerns.
May declined to answer questions about how many parliamentarians are mentioned in the NSICOP report – only revealing that the number is “low.”
“The few named people may be compromised. They have been beneficiaries of foreign governments interfering in nomination contests,” she said.
May also explained why she voted against a Bloc Québécois motion for the public inquiry into foreign election interference to expand its mandate and investigate the allegations of parliamentarians colluding with other states, calling it “performative without being substantive.”
The Liberals, Conservatives and NDP supported the measure.
Last month, the inquiry– led by Quebec Justice Marie-Josée Hogue – released interim findings outlining “troubling events” in the last two elections, which undermined the rights of Canadian voters but did not change the result of the election itself.
Hogue’s findings described China’s “sophisticated, pervasive and persistent” attempt to meddle in Canada’s democratic institutions.
The Commissioner is expected to deliver her final report by the end of the year, but it’s not clear if the motion will lead to an extension given the already tight timeline.
“[Justice Hogue] will soon issue a Notice to the Public regarding the parameters of the Commission’s mandate and the next stage of its work,” said Foreign interference commission spokesperson Michael Tansey in a statement to Global News.
May said this latest development is “throwing a hot potato in the wrong soup pot.”
She and her fellow Green Party member, Mike Morrice, were the only MPS who voted against the Bloc motion.
Carleton University professor of international affairs Stephanie Carvin also questioned how much the measure can accomplish, calling it a “delay tactic.”
“It’s unlikely that [Hogue] is going to be able to do the dirty work of naming the actual names or dealing with this situation. To me, this is just kicking the can down the road,” said Carvin.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet defended the move and criticized May’s decision to discuss the unredacted NSICOP report saying in French, it goes against the advice of national security authorities.
Blanchet said he’s in the process of getting his security clearance so he can read the full report.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh – who has security clearance – says he plans to read the document as well, while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has declined such a briefing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Poilievre of “choosing ignorance, so he can play partisan politics.”
“Elizabeth May took on her responsibilities as party leader, got her security clearance and did the work. Mr. Poilievre should do that too,” Trudeau said Tuesday.
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