Trudeau minister ‘sees no traitors’ in Parliament

A June 3 security report outlined 'particularly concerning examples of behaviour by a few parliamentarians,' of which it said: 'Some may be illegal.' Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc refused to disclose which parliamentarians were accused of working with foreign actors to undermine Canadian democracy.

A key Trudeau cabinet minister says there are no traitors in Parliament, contrary to evidence tabled at the Commission on Foreign Interference. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said while some legislators “may have lacked judgment,” none have betrayed Canada.

“That is consistent with what I have seen, the intelligence I have access to as the public safety minister,” testified LeBlanc. “It is a gross partisan exaggeration and I think irresponsible, for people to – and many have in the public domain – claim there are traitors sitting in Parliament and treasonous people.”

“Those are criminal phrases that are not borne out by the evidence or by the work of police or the security agencies,” said LeBlanc. “That is one of the challenges in a very partisan context of trying to have a rational conversation.”

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) in a June 3 Special Report said it knew of “a few parliamentarians” in the pay of foreign embassies. Suspects include legislators who spied on colleagues, acted at the “direction of foreign officials” and leaked to a foreign agent “information learned in confidence from the government.”

The report outlined “particularly concerning examples of behaviour by a few parliamentarians,” it said. “Some may be illegal.”

Minister LeBlanc said he has read a confidential, uncensored version of the Committee report, reported Blacklock’s Reporter. He has declined to name any MPs or senators identified by the Committee. Liberal appointees were a majority of the 11-member committee. 

Counsel representing NDP MP Jenny Kwan, a victim of foreign interference, asked LeBlanc why the names of MPs identified in Ottawa’s NSICOP 2024 report should not be named. The redacted names face accusations of working with hostile Indian and Chinese actors to undermine Canadian democracy.

“I'll repeat it to you again, that I think it is inappropriate, if not illegal, to release names that the members of NSICOP decided to write the report about and use the words they chose,” LeBlanc said. “I don't think it's particularly helpful to use witting, unwitting, semi-witting. I think those words understandably cast an understandable concern on these parliamentarians.”

“People serve in Parliament honourably,” he continued. “Some may have lacked judgment in certain contexts but I think we need to be careful not to also continue to fuel an impression that has been grossly exaggerated since this report of the Committee was made public.”

Nathalie Drouin, the Prime Minister’s national security advisor, similarly testified on October 9 there were no traitors in Parliament. Drouin also declined to make the report public.

Meanwhile, Minister LeBlanc did not receive an actionable memo last year, which required him to publicly release a new strategy to combat foreign meddling, reported The Bureau. It was aimed at safeguarding Canadians and institutions from hostile foreign actors.

The Hogue Commission learned this strategy has remained in limbo since 2018, citing interdepartmental disagreements. LeBlanc told Commission counsel he has yet to review the aforementioned document.

The memo also sought to address diaspora communities vulnerable to foreign intrusion, amid claims that Indian diplomats are tied to “homicides and violent acts” targeting Canadians and alleged “Chinese police stations” gather intelligence on diaspora citizens.

Minister LeBlanc could not confirm if the RCMP had made any arrests involving Chinese police stations in Canada. He also deflected questions on expelling Indian diplomats to Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, who would be responsible for such a move.

Further administrative negligence delayed a separate memorandum to approve briefing materials for members of Parliament on foreign interference. LeBlanc delayed the signing of this memo past November 13, 2023, adding: "I thought it was good work,” but "I wanted an extra Parliamentary lens applied to it, and those [briefing] meetings took place in June [2024]."

The memo highlighted the need for MPs to receive unclassified threat briefings meant to protect elected officials and their staff from interference, as well as to establish regularized communications with CSIS on these matters.

A recent memo from the intelligence agency, dated for September 8, 2021, explained that political staff are co-opted as “gatekeepers” for MPs and senators, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.

The nine-page memo, disclosed by the Commission, explained that staff in positions to clandestinely and deceptively influence elected and appointed officials can bend the knee in support of Chinese or Communist Party interests.

Expose the Traitors!

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Justin Trudeau is hiding the truth from Canadians. Multiple MPs have been implicated in the China spy scandal, yet Trudeau refuses to release their names. Who are they? Why is he protecting them? We deserve to know which politicians are compromised by a foreign regime, but Trudeau’s secrecy puts our democracy at risk. Sign the petition now and demand that Trudeau come clean — Canadians have the right to know which MPs are under China's influence.

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Alex Dhaliwal

Calgary Based Journalist

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

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