Allegations according to which certain MPs have “knowingly” or naively collaborated with India or China have caused serious concern among federal politicians, especially since the law prevents the government from quickly punishing them.
“It’s a serious, serious problem that there are MPs in our House of Commons who are part of this,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
The more than 100-page report from the Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security and Intelligence tabled Monday contained numerous redacted passages to remove the names of MPs as well as any information allowing them to be identified.
The law makes it impossible to name these people. To do this, you will have to wait for at least criminal charges, but the inadmissibility of confidential documents in court further complicates the process.
They should lose their jobs, says Singh
“It’s very damning, very disappointing and frankly very serious,” decried NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
He is the one who went furthest in his condemnation of the situation.
“I think that if there is evidence that a person knowingly worked with a foreign government to influence our democracy, they should no longer be an MP,” he said on Tuesday.
The situation is unusual: a handful of elected officials who are part of the editorial committee as well as the ministers who hold a high security clearance know the identity of the deputies in question. But, for now, the government’s hands are tied and cannot punish the wrongdoers.
“If I steal a car and someone hears that I stole a car, my name will be in the newspaper the next morning, and there is no one who will protect my anonymity,” illustrated the chief from the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet.
“So as a citizen, it shocks me that someone could be under Indian or Chinese influence and vote in the Parliament where I was elected, without me being able to know who it is. It concerns me a lot.”
Impossible to act quickly
The latter, however, recognized that “the law has limits” and that Ottawa cannot fire MPs overnight without revealing how Canadian espionage works.
The Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, indicated that “no Western democracy” would disclose the evidence that would have to be made public to accuse the deputies.
“I think Canadians understand that this work is carried out with a certain requirement of confidentiality and secrecy to protect the sources and methods used by intelligence agencies,” said Mr. LeBlanc.
