The Liberals are offering a spot on Parliament’s national security committee to a Conservative senator despite Erin O’Toole’s boycott of the review body.
A letter obtained by Global News from Sen. Don Plett, the Conservative leader in the Senate, urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to include a Conservative senator on the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP).
But Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole — who is facing a vote on his leadership at a Conservative caucus meeting Wednesday morning — has boycotted the review body over a dispute about documents related to two scientists fired from a high-security Winnipeg microbiology lab.
The ongoing dispute has raised concerns about politicizing national security review and oversight in Canada, only a few short years after the country established dedicated Parliamentary review into intelligence issues.
Global News reached out to both Plett and O’Toole’s office on Tuesday. Calls and emails were not returned as of Wednesday morning.
In the letter, Plett accused Trudeau of “ignoring” the advice of the Conservative Senate leadership to appoint Sen. Fabian Manning to the committee.
“Your decision to ignore the advice of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate introduces an unprecedented level of partisanship in the appointment process,” Plett charged, suggesting it “risks undermining public confidence” in national security review.
- Toronto Pearson gold heist: Ontario man arrested at airport after arriving from India
- Capital gains changes could have ‘irreversible’ effects, business groups warn
- A ‘zombie’ virus is raging among raccoons. What to know
- Could notwithstanding clause be used on abortion? Poilievre’s office says ‘never’
“Furthermore, your decision also effectively sidelines the more than six million Canadians who voted for the Conservative Party in the September 2021 federal election.”
The letter, dated Jan. 27, does not mention O’Toole’s longstanding boycott of the committee over the Winnipeg lab documents.
Conservatives have demanded the government hand over unredacted documents related to the matter, while the Liberals have repeatedly refused to do so. Instead, the government has offered what it has described as compromises, including turning over the documents to NSICOP or creating an ad hoc committee to review both censored and uncensored documents. Those overtures have been rejected.
O’Toole wrote Trudeau on Dec. 17 to indicate the party would continue to boycott NSICOP over the Liberals refusal to release uncensored documents concerning the firing of two scientists from the high-security laboratory. The scientists were fired over “possible security breaches,” with allegations about connections to Chinese intelligence.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Liberals introduced a motion in the House of Commons to include Sen. Manning on NSICOP — despite O’Toole’s objections. The motion, which required unanimous consent from MPs present in the House of Commons, was denied.
With files from Amanda Connolly and The Canadian Press.
Comments