Opposition asks Liberals to name parliamentarians colluding with foreign powers

The Official Opposition challenged the government Wednesday to release the names of all parliamentarians whom a national security watchdog believes are colluding with foreign powers.

A report released Monday by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, a watchdog set up by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said a number of federal politicians, whom it declined to identify, are collaborating with countries such as India and China.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong on Wednesday urged the minority Liberal government to identify these parliamentarians. Were the government to name these people in the House of Commons, anyone doing so would be protected from legal action by parliamentary immunity.

“The report reveals that parliamentarians including members of this House, knowingly and willingly assisted a hostile foreign state, in Parliament and in our elections, to the detriment of the people of Canada,” Mr. Chong said during Question Period.

“Parliamentarians’ duty is not to a foreign state, but to the people of Canada. A simple question. Will the Prime Minister release the names of these parliamentarians?”

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said it would be irresponsible to identify the parliamentarians.

“No responsible government would reveal names under these types of confidential circumstances,” Mr. LeBlanc told the Commons.

The national-security committee report from Monday is the latest to outline deficiencies in how the government addresses meddling by foreign powers in Canadian democracy. The committee, made up of MPs from all major parties as well as senators, detailed collaborations between federal politicians and foreign governments, including “communicating frequently with foreign missions before or during a political campaign to obtain support from community groups or businesses which the diplomatic missions promise to quietly mobilize in a candidate’s favour.”

The national-security committee also reported Monday that some parliamentarians are “accepting knowingly, or through willful blindness, funds or benefits from foreign missions or their proxies which have been layered or otherwise disguised to conceal their source.”

It said some federal politicians are giving foreign diplomats information on the work or opinions of fellow parliamentarians, knowing it will be used to put pressure on MPs to change their positions. And it said some parliamentarians are following the direction of foreign officials to improperly influence colleagues or parliamentary business, or giving information learned in confidence from the government to a foreign intelligence officer.