The Tories are demanding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals release names of parliamentarians suspected of acting for foreign embassies prior to any leadership contest or general election.The identities of suspects were detailed in a confidential 2024 report, per Blacklock’s Reporter. National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) in a Special Report last June 3 named “a few parliamentarians” in the pay of foreign embassiesOpposition House Leader Andrew Scheer on Tuesday told reporters, “Justin Trudeau is the Prime Minister today — he has the power to release those names. He has the authority.”“We have had major concerns with how Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have handled foreign interference,” said Scheer.“They have dragged their feet. They have resisted accountability.”“Justin Trudeau has never taken this threat seriously. He has sat on reports and recommendations and done absolutely nothing about it. We are concerned.”Suspects include legislators who spied on colleagues, acted at the “direction of foreign officials” and leaked to a foreign agent “information learned in confidence from the government.”The report outlined “particularly concerning examples of behaviour by a few parliamentarians,” it said. “Some may be illegal.”The names were never made public. Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, head of the Commission on Foreign Interference, said last September 16 she was forbidden by the Inquiries Act from identifying suspects.“It is not this Commission’s function to attempt to identify individuals as alleged wrongdoers,” said Hogue.“The Inquiries Act expressly prohibits the Commission from making an adverse finding against a person, in other words a conclusion that would discredit that person or tarnish their reputation, unless that person has been given notice and allowed full opportunity to be heard with respect to the charge of misconduct against them.”Scheer yesterday said there was no reason cabinet could not name the suspects. The Security Of Information Act permits disclosure “in the public interest.”“They have dragged their feet,” said Scheer. “They have resisted accountability. They still refuse to release the names of Members of Parliament who were listed in the national security and intelligence report.”Nathalie Drouin, the prime minister’s national security advisor, testified last October 9 at the Commission on Foreign Interference she had read the confidential report and concluded parliamentarians named as security risks were guilty of nothing more than poor judgment.“I have seen inappropriate behaviour,” testified Drouin.“I saw some lack of judgment in the case of some individuals. Maybe I would trust them a bit less. But I saw no MPs responsible for espionage, sabotage or putting the security of Canada at risk.”“What we saw in the intelligence reports was complacency in the case of some individuals, maybe relationships that should not have been tolerated or some people shared information when in fact they did not have information to share.”“The information we now have does not allow me to conclude there are traitors in Parliament.”
