The Canadian government, under pressure to reveal the names of parliamentarians who allegedly acted as agents of other nations, gave in to opposition demands to refer the matter to a special inquiry this Monday (10).
A committee of lawmakers that focuses on security issues said last week that some elected officials had “intentionally or semi-intentionally” participated in foreign interference operations.
The charges include disclosing Canadian secrets to other countries.
The episode put pressure on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was accused by the opposition of taking a negligent approach to national security.
The Liberal government says naming the MPs would break the law, adding that it would be up to the police to investigate.
The committee, which cited sensitive information from Canada’s secret services, said it could not identify the parliamentarians or the political party they belonged to.
Opposition politicians have begun debating a motion that proposes that the matter be handed over to an independent inquiry that is already investigating foreign interference.
The Minister of Public Security, Dominic LeBlanc, said he agrees with the proposal, as the inquiry has already had access to the documents cited by the committee of parliamentarians.
“We think this is a responsible way to proceed, and not simply illegally announcing a list of names,” LeBlanc told the elected Lower House of the House of Commons. The politician did not commit to naming names.
The official opposition Conservatives – who polls show are poised for an easy election victory – accuse Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau of taking a negligent approach to security.
National elections that must be held by the end of October 2025.
“Certain members of this House acted in the best interests of hostile foreign regimes that interfered with Canada’s democracy. This is a disgusting betrayal of the Canadians who elected us,” party MP Jasraj Singh Hallan told the House.
In last week’s report, the committee of parliamentarians stated that India and China were the main foreign threats to Canada’s democratic institutions.
The independent inquiry announced last month that it had found evidence of foreign interference in Canada’s last two federal elections. But he said voting results were not affected and that the electoral system was resilient.
Canada’s top spy agency said last month that Chinese election interference had the potential to undermine Canadian democracy. Beijing denies accusations of interference.
Source: CNN Brasil
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