Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security advisor said she has not seen evidence that federal politicians are “traitors” through their dealings with foreign governments.
Speaking at the Hogue commission into foreign interference Wednesday, Nathalie Drouin suggested a recent report by a cross-partisan national security committee gave the mistaken impression that some MPs were betraying their country.
“The fact that (the report) focused on members of Parliament and thus gave the impression that some MPs might have been aware and might have acted in a way that is close to treason makes me very uncomfortable. Because that’s not what I see,” Drouin, a longtime public servant appointed Trudeau’s National Security and Intelligence Advisor in January, said.
“I’ve seen inappropriate behaviours, I saw some lack of judgment, and in the case of some individuals maybe I would trust them a bit less. But I saw no MPs responsible for espionage, sabotage or putting the security of Canada at risk.”
A cloud of suspicion has been hanging over parliamentarians after the national security committee suggested there is intelligence that an undisclosed number of politicians are knowingly working with hostile foreign powers.
The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSCIOP) revealed in June that some federal politicians — no indication of how many, or from what party — are “witting or semi-witting” participants in foreign interference schemes.
“Some (of the activities) may be illegal, but are unlikely to lead to criminal charges, owing to Canada’s failure to address the long-standing issue of protecting classified information and methods in judicial processes,” the report read.
In other words, Canada’s intelligence agencies might have compelling information on politicians’ activities, but may not want to divulge how they came across those secrets in public court proceedings.
“Regardless, all the behaviours are deeply unethical and, the committee would submit, contrary to the oaths and affirmations Parliamentarians take to conduct themselves in the best interests of Canada,” NSICOP found.
In the wake of the report, there have been calls from some corners to name those MPs suspected of cooperating with foreign governments – calls both the government and Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, who is leading the independent foreign interference inquiry, have resisted.
That’s because intelligence is not always evidence, and even if national security agencies have high confidence in their information about individual parliamentarians, that information may not hold up in a criminal trial.
Appearing with Drouin on Wednesday was Jody Thomas, Trudeau’s former NSIA who was in the role when new revelations about foreign interference began making headlines, starting with Global News’ reporting in Nov. 2022.
Testimony earlier in the week raised questions about why a “special report” into China’s foreign interference activities prepared by the Privy Council Office (PCO) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service stalled on her desk, rather than making it before Trudeau and senior cabinet ministers.
The report sought to combine what the Canadian intelligence community knows about Beijing’s operations in Canada with larger international trends in the People’s Republic of China’s activities.
Thomas told the inquiry that the report, while a “useful document,” did not “come to any new conclusions.”
“It collated various reports from CSIS, which was useful, but there was nothing in it that had not been seen previously,” Thomas told the commission lawyers.
Thomas told the commission it was not her job to ensure the report was finalized — including being peer reviewed by a committee of senior bureaucrats — or to handle its distribution.
Hogue’s inquiry is scheduled to hear more testimony from current and former cabinet ministers — including Global Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, Defence Minister Bill Blair and former Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino — in the coming days, and from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau next Tuesday.
Hogue is expected to deliver her final report, including recommendations on how to better safeguard Canada against foreign interference, by the end of the year.