Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison admitted he leaked Canadian intel to American journalists while testifying at the Commons Public Safety Committee Tuesday. Hot on the heels of the RCMP’s Thanksgiving announcement on Monday, October 14, where the Mounties claimed Indian officials are a threat to national security, the Washington Post on October 15 published an article — based on an anonymous source — that Canada alleges Indian Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah, a friend of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the mastermind behind a plot to target Sikh separatists. Morrison and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security advisor Nathalie Drouin have now come clean and confessed and they were the ones that leaked the allegations about Shah to the Post. .Trudeau claims RCMP made accusations to protect Canadians from India, admits he has 'no proof'.“Deputy Minister Morrison and I spoke to the Washington Post on background late Sunday afternoon, October 14,” Drouin told the community. “We provided non-classified information on the action we had taken to cooperate with India, and explained how the evidence showed links to the government of India conducting illegal activities against Canadians, including threats to their lives.”“We made a strategic decision to engage a respected international news outlet that had already published on the subject, to ensure the record was straight and that our side of the story would be widely heard.”“Within our strategy, we were talking to different audiences,” added Morrison. “So we deliberately chose a credible, internationally read newspaper that would carry our side of the story. We chose a journalist that had a long record of background on this topic. And through the Washington Post, we were speaking directly to our friends in the United States, to our allies in the UK and elsewhere, and to Indians.” .WATCH: RCMP concedes ‘no imminent threat’ from India despite alarming Thanksgiving announcement .Conservative MP Raquel Dancho asked Morrison and Drouin to confirm the allegations were “not released in Canada, that was only released in the Washington Post.”“This is not information we provided to the journalist,” replied Drouin. “Who provided the information then?” asked Danch. “We’re not sure,” said Dancho. Dancho then asked Morrison to answer. “The journalist called me and asked if it was that person (Shah),” said Morrison.“I confirmed it was that person.”“This is a journalist that has written extensively on that topic, a journalist that has many sources. He asked me if that was one of the people, and I confirmed it was.” .WATCH: Joly’s strange laugh when asked about Sihk activist’s murder .Dancho asked Drouin and Morrison to confirm “the prime minister did not release this information to the Canadian public, but it was released to the Washington Post.”“Released in the Washington Post, yes, I’m just trying to rack my brain for what the prime minister said,” replied Morrison. Drouin confirmed she is the top national security advisor in the country. When asked if she advised Trudeau “not to release that information publicly in Canada,” she said she worked with Trudeau and other ministers on their statements. “This is what I can say. We revised and reviewed” statements. “I’m trying to understand why it is the Washington Post who received this information, when the commissioner, the prime minister, the public safety minister and the foreign affairs minister did not provide that information to Canada — in fact Canadians wouldn't know unless they were able to read the National Post.”“I find that quite unfair to the Canadian public. Don’t you find that odd?”
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison admitted he leaked Canadian intel to American journalists while testifying at the Commons Public Safety Committee Tuesday. Hot on the heels of the RCMP’s Thanksgiving announcement on Monday, October 14, where the Mounties claimed Indian officials are a threat to national security, the Washington Post on October 15 published an article — based on an anonymous source — that Canada alleges Indian Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah, a friend of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the mastermind behind a plot to target Sikh separatists. Morrison and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security advisor Nathalie Drouin have now come clean and confessed and they were the ones that leaked the allegations about Shah to the Post. .Trudeau claims RCMP made accusations to protect Canadians from India, admits he has 'no proof'.“Deputy Minister Morrison and I spoke to the Washington Post on background late Sunday afternoon, October 14,” Drouin told the community. “We provided non-classified information on the action we had taken to cooperate with India, and explained how the evidence showed links to the government of India conducting illegal activities against Canadians, including threats to their lives.”“We made a strategic decision to engage a respected international news outlet that had already published on the subject, to ensure the record was straight and that our side of the story would be widely heard.”“Within our strategy, we were talking to different audiences,” added Morrison. “So we deliberately chose a credible, internationally read newspaper that would carry our side of the story. We chose a journalist that had a long record of background on this topic. And through the Washington Post, we were speaking directly to our friends in the United States, to our allies in the UK and elsewhere, and to Indians.” .WATCH: RCMP concedes ‘no imminent threat’ from India despite alarming Thanksgiving announcement .Conservative MP Raquel Dancho asked Morrison and Drouin to confirm the allegations were “not released in Canada, that was only released in the Washington Post.”“This is not information we provided to the journalist,” replied Drouin. “Who provided the information then?” asked Danch. “We’re not sure,” said Dancho. Dancho then asked Morrison to answer. “The journalist called me and asked if it was that person (Shah),” said Morrison.“I confirmed it was that person.”“This is a journalist that has written extensively on that topic, a journalist that has many sources. He asked me if that was one of the people, and I confirmed it was.” .WATCH: Joly’s strange laugh when asked about Sihk activist’s murder .Dancho asked Drouin and Morrison to confirm “the prime minister did not release this information to the Canadian public, but it was released to the Washington Post.”“Released in the Washington Post, yes, I’m just trying to rack my brain for what the prime minister said,” replied Morrison. Drouin confirmed she is the top national security advisor in the country. When asked if she advised Trudeau “not to release that information publicly in Canada,” she said she worked with Trudeau and other ministers on their statements. “This is what I can say. We revised and reviewed” statements. “I’m trying to understand why it is the Washington Post who received this information, when the commissioner, the prime minister, the public safety minister and the foreign affairs minister did not provide that information to Canada — in fact Canadians wouldn't know unless they were able to read the National Post.”“I find that quite unfair to the Canadian public. Don’t you find that odd?”
