The Commission on Foreign Interference announced Thursday that it is actively investigating specific names and dates mentioned in a heavily redacted report on foreign espionage within Canada's Parliament. Blacklock's Reporter says Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue assured the public that the inquiry aims to clarify the details surrounding these allegations."Commission counsel have undertaken the exercise of identifying and analyzing the information and intelligence on which certain statements in the report are based," Justice Hogue stated. She emphasized that the Commission's role is not to assign guilt but to reveal the facts, leaving other entities to pursue any individuals who may have committed offenses.The Commission is scheduled to resume public hearings on Monday, September 16. Hogue acknowledged the public's concern, referencing her May 3 Initial Report that confirmed foreign interference in Canadian politics, writing, "People are right to be worried."The inquiry follows a June 3 Special Report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, which revealed that "a few parliamentarians" were on the payroll of foreign embassies. These MPs allegedly spied on their colleagues and acted under the direction of foreign officials. The report also disclosed that one unnamed MP leaked confidential government information to a known intelligence officer of a foreign state.Despite mounting pressure, the federal government has refused to disclose the names of MPs or senators suspected of collaborating with foreign embassies. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc defended this decision, stating on June 20 at the House Affairs Committee, "I don’t think it would be appropriate."Opposition MPs have demanded full transparency. Conservative MP Frank Caputo (Kamloops-Thompson, B.C.) expressed frustration during the committee hearing, suggesting political bias in the handling of the situation. "Let’s face it, I think if there were six Conservatives on that list and no other Liberals, we would have the names," Caputo said. "Let’s be honest here."Bloc Québécois MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides-Labelle, Que.) has also urged the government to unmask any foreign agents operating within Parliament. "I am asking the federal government to defend Canada," Gaudreau said during a June 10 hearing, criticizing the government's handling of the situation.Gaudreau went so far as to compare the current situation to the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, drawing parallels between the government's inaction and France's reliance on the Maginot Line, which failed to prevent the German advance. "They didn’t actually pay attention to the reality. That is what we are seeing in Canada," she warned.
The Commission on Foreign Interference announced Thursday that it is actively investigating specific names and dates mentioned in a heavily redacted report on foreign espionage within Canada's Parliament. Blacklock's Reporter says Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue assured the public that the inquiry aims to clarify the details surrounding these allegations."Commission counsel have undertaken the exercise of identifying and analyzing the information and intelligence on which certain statements in the report are based," Justice Hogue stated. She emphasized that the Commission's role is not to assign guilt but to reveal the facts, leaving other entities to pursue any individuals who may have committed offenses.The Commission is scheduled to resume public hearings on Monday, September 16. Hogue acknowledged the public's concern, referencing her May 3 Initial Report that confirmed foreign interference in Canadian politics, writing, "People are right to be worried."The inquiry follows a June 3 Special Report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, which revealed that "a few parliamentarians" were on the payroll of foreign embassies. These MPs allegedly spied on their colleagues and acted under the direction of foreign officials. The report also disclosed that one unnamed MP leaked confidential government information to a known intelligence officer of a foreign state.Despite mounting pressure, the federal government has refused to disclose the names of MPs or senators suspected of collaborating with foreign embassies. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc defended this decision, stating on June 20 at the House Affairs Committee, "I don’t think it would be appropriate."Opposition MPs have demanded full transparency. Conservative MP Frank Caputo (Kamloops-Thompson, B.C.) expressed frustration during the committee hearing, suggesting political bias in the handling of the situation. "Let’s face it, I think if there were six Conservatives on that list and no other Liberals, we would have the names," Caputo said. "Let’s be honest here."Bloc Québécois MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides-Labelle, Que.) has also urged the government to unmask any foreign agents operating within Parliament. "I am asking the federal government to defend Canada," Gaudreau said during a June 10 hearing, criticizing the government's handling of the situation.Gaudreau went so far as to compare the current situation to the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, drawing parallels between the government's inaction and France's reliance on the Maginot Line, which failed to prevent the German advance. "They didn’t actually pay attention to the reality. That is what we are seeing in Canada," she warned.
