Singh calls named MPs ‘traitors’ after reading NSICOP report

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OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he is more convinced than ever that fellow parliamentarians are “wittingly” engaging in foreign interference after reading the unredacted version of a bombshell report and that they are “traitors” to Canada.

On Wednesday, Singh became the second party leader to read the entire report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) but had a completely different read from Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May on its contents.

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“I am not relieved after reading this report. I am more concerned today than I was yesterday,” Singh told reporters on Thursday.

While May said that the MPs named in the report were not disloyal to Canada, Singh said that their behaviours are “deeply unethical, and contrary to the oaths and affirmations parliamentarians take to conduct themselves in the best interest of Canada.”

“In short, there are a number of MPs who have knowingly provided help to foreign governments, some to the detriment of Canada and Canadians. There are also politicians at all levels of government who have benefited from foreign interference,” he said.

“Some of this behaviour absolutely appears to be criminal and should be prosecuted.”

Pressed by a reporter, he went even further in saying that those MPs are “indeed traitors to the country.”

Singh blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has had access to the report for nearly three months, for not acting sooner about MPs named in the report.

“He may disagree with that intelligence, but I believe… he has sent the message that he is willing to accept some level of foreign interference,” he said.

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Singh said that the report also discusses recent federal Conservative leadership contests which were the targets of interference by China and India, and blasted Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for refusing to inquire about allegations touching his party.

“To me, that disqualifies him as a leader, and I do not buy his phony excuses,” he said.

Singh said parties should find a way to let MPs who are named in the report “know that we know what they’re up to” and said he believes it can be done in a way that does not compromise national security. He also said they should be removed from their caucus.

“Removing MPs who knowingly participated in foreign interference, would have the deterring effect on this type of behaviour, it would send a message that these countries cannot try to use MPs in this manner,” he said.

“If there continues to be no consequences for MPs who knowingly help foreign governments act against Canadian interests, we will continue to be an easy target.”

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Singh had previously said that he would not hesitate to kick out of his caucus any NDP MP if they were found to have “wittingly” engaged in foreign interference but said that he would not need to take any action against anyone in his party after reading the report.

He admitted that the report indicated he was a target of foreign interference, although he did not give details. The foreign interference inquiry previously revealed that Singh was warned of potential threats against his life after the killing of a Sikh activist last year.

Singh told reporters before he read the report that he would be reading the document through the eyes of diaspora communities who are directly affected by foreign interference, whether it is coming from India, China, Iran or other countries.

“Foreign interference is something they live with and they fear on a regular basis. They are threatened, they are harassed, their family members are threatened and harassed, and so this has a huge impact, this is very real in the lives of Canadians,” he said.

Singh also expressed concern that May might have minimized the impact of foreign interference on those communities with her previous comments.

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May said that she had “no worries about anyone” in the House of Commons after reading the report, and that she was “vastly relieved” to see that the most worrying case was a former MP who proactively provided privileged information to a foreign operative.

Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc said in a Senate committee earlier this week that those “seeking to undermine public confidence in our democracies would be quite pleased with the discussion that’s taking place in a partisan context now.”

He stressed that intelligence, including the information contained in the NSICOP report, is not evidence and that the government will not start the “naming and shaming” based on raw pieces of information that may come from one uncorroborated source.”

National Post
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