NDP’s Jagmeet Singh says classified version of foreign interference report details unethical behaviour by some parliamentarians

The classified version of a national-security watchdog’s report into foreign interference details troubling instances of unethical and likely criminal behaviour by parliamentarians, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Thursday, adding he is more concerned after reading the secret version of the document.

He said he is “more convinced than ever” of the conclusions made in the report, released last week, “that some parliamentarians are in the words of the intelligence services, ‘semi-witting or witting’ participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics.”

The behaviour of the MPs “are deeply unethical and contrary to the oaths and affirmations parliamentarians take to conduct themselves in the best interest of Canada,” he said during a news conference outside the House of Commons.

“There are a number of MPs who have knowingly provided help to foreign governments, some to the detriment of Canada and Canadians,” the NDP Leader added.

“There are also politicians at all levels of government, who have benefited from foreign interference. Some of this behaviour absolutely appears to be criminal and should be prosecuted,” Mr. Singh said.

The NDP Leader is the second opposition leader to review the top-secret version of the report, which was redacted before being released last week by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP). However, his take-away from the report paints a much more concerning picture than the one painted by Green Party Leader Elizabeth May after she read the report earlier this week.

The redacted report said a number of federal politicians, whom it declined to identify, are collaborating with countries such as India and China. However, the specific examples and details of the interference were not disclosed in the public version of the report.

The document was written by a committee made up of MPs and Senators, representing the Liberals, the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois, and the NDP.

“I am more alarmed today than I was yesterday after having read the report,” Mr. Singh said. “What is clear to me is that Justin Trudeau knew and didn’t act, while Pierre Poilievre doesn’t even want to know about serious allegations touching his party.”

Some parliamentarians collaborated with China and India to further their own interests, report says

The New Democrats are calling for the scope of the public inquiry into foreign interference to be expanded again – this time to delve into revelations in the NSICOP report that China and India interfered in Conservative leadership races.

The report’s public version says there were “two specific instances” where officials from the People’s Republic of China allegedly interfered in the leadership races. It also says India allegedly interfered in one of the leadership races.

The official opposition is the only major federal party to hold such a competition during the time frame the committee reviewed: September, 2018 to March, 2024.

There were two races held in that window. One in 2020, won by Erin O’Toole, and another in 2022, which Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre won.

In a letter to Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc sent on Monday but released publicly on Thursday, the NDP said the allegations are “deeply concerning” to Canadians.

The letter also called for the inquiry to investigate the most damning disclosures in the report that the country’s intelligence services believe some parliamentarians are “semi-witting or witting” participants in foreign-interference efforts.

Members of the House of Commons have already asked the inquiry, led by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, to study those allegations.

NDP MP and public safety critic Alistair MacGregor, one of the signatories of the letter send to Mr. LeBlanc, said in an interview Thursday that the party made the request because its “important that we cover all avenues.”

“Our ultimate goal is to make sure that all ballots, including those at the party level, are free from foreign interference,” he said.

The Conservative Party did not explicitly say whether it would support such a probe, but Mr. Poilievre’s spokesperson Sam Lilly called the request nonsense and a “clear deflection by the Liberal-NDP Government.”

He added that the Conservative party rules only allow citizens and permanent residents to vote in their leadership races and pointed out that Mr. Poilievre won his race in a landslide. He received 68 per cent of the vote.

Mr. LeBlanc’s office did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

Mr. Poilievre is the only leader that has declined access to classified information on foreign intelligence, including the NSICOP report.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Ms. May said the secret version of the report does not detail any examples of sitting MPs being disloyal to Canada.

She said having read the classified report, she is “vastly relieved” and has “no worries about anyone in the House of Commons.”

Ms. May said it does not detail any examples of sitting members of Parliament wittingly collaborating with foreign states, though she said some may be caught up in the meddling.

“While a few named people may have been compromised by foreign influence, it falls far short of what could be considered disloyalty to Canada,” Ms. May said at the news conference.

The impact of foreign interference efforts were separately highlighted on Parliament Hill Thursday by MPs who were the targets of hackers linked to Beijing. The Globe and Mail first reported on the incidents in April. MPs were only notified about it years after it happened and by American authorities rather than Canadian.

Conservative MP James Bezan told the Procedure and House Affairs committee that it is “embarrassing” that politicians learned of the matter through the FBI.

Liberal MP Judy Sgro also told the committee that she was disappointed about how the information was communicated to them.

“We need to know,” she said. “Parliamentarians need to know when there’s been a threat levelled against us.”

Ms. Sgro also said she believes there should be a significant presentation for all parliamentarians on security issues in September. MPs need to know what steps they should be taking, or not taking, and where to go for follow-up, she added.

Also on Thursday, the House of Commons approved Bill C-70, the countering foreign interference legislation, in a unanimous vote with the support of 317 MPs. It will now go to the Senate and is expected to receive royal assent by the end of the month.