Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
It's interesting; Ms. May's story seems to have changed quite a bit in tone and scope from her perspective when she read the unredacted NSICOP report. I just find it interesting that her perspective has recently changed.
Anyway, I would say that this amendment to ensure that the names are released would be in line with what a number of our allies do. For example, the United Kingdom rightly names and shames any members of Parliament who are acting in a treasonous manner or who are colluding with foreign countries to undermine the United Kingdom's national interests. I do believe that Canada should be doing the same. I agree with my colleague Dane Lloyd that otherwise, the Prime Minister, to his own advantage, seems to just be weaponizing this so-called secret information that he continues to talk about without actually saying the names.
I certainly would agree with a former NDP leader who won many more seats than the current leader of the NDP. He said just recently, “I agree completely with Poilievre's decision not to take the bait.”
He's referring to Mr. Trudeau's claims.
He said, “Trudeau's been trying for a year and a half to restrain what Pierre Poilievre can do by trying to say, 'Come and get this private briefing—and oh, by the way, then you'll be held to an official secret and you won't be able to talk about this anymore.' ”
It seems notable, and frankly formidable, that former NDP leaders would agree with Pierre Poilievre, our leader of the Conservative Party, that any effort to do this is really an effort to put him under some sort of gag order so that he can't really do his duty to hold the Prime Minister accountable for matters of foreign interference.
It's interesting to see that Mr. Singh is now working hand in hand with Mr. Trudeau yet again to try to gag-order Pierre Poilievre from being able to speak about this issue.
It's interesting that Mr. Singh recently made a big show of ripping up some so-called informal coalition with the Liberal government, but it would appear now that the NDP is really helping Mr. Trudeau to carry water on the shameless partisan politics he's playing in the foreign interference inquiry. It was quite a serious, respectable and professional undertaking until the Prime Minister decided to make some sort of ruthless and shameless political show and circus out of the whole affair.
I think it's really important for this committee to remember—and certainly Canadians will—that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had to be dragged kicking and screaming into this foreign interference inquiry. You'll remember that he had first denied there was any election interference from China, for example, and had denied that anything was going on with the member for Don Valley North in that nomination, yet here we are, in a foreign interference inquiry, and there is clear interference from not only China but also India, Iran, Pakistan and Russia. We are, in fact, at the worst point in history when it comes to foreign interference, and we've had the same Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, for nine years. What does that say about his leadership or lack thereof?
I would also point out that the person in this country most responsible for foreign interference and preventing it and keeping national security safe is the Prime Minister of Canada. If we've had the same Prime Minister of Canada, and now this has come to such a point that the RCMP has had to announce that 13 individuals are in peril because foreign interference has become so bad, what does that really say about his leadership?
What's interesting to me is that in the foreign interference inquiry, which he's made a farce of with his recent partisan attacks, he's really trying to do two things. Number one is to distract from his failed record to prevent foreign interference in this country and the fact that he's created an environment in which foreign interference is worse than it has been at any time in Canadian history. Foreign adversaries and others feel that we are a weak country that they can bully under Prime Minister Trudeau's so-called leadership.
The second thing is that the Prime Minister is trying to distract from the fact that he has an ongoing revolt in his caucus that is looking to overthrow him. It's no wonder he's doing this, but certainly, if he continues to weaponize this, as my colleague said, then he should release the names. Canadians deserve to know who in Parliament right now or in the past has been undermining the national interest on purpose to aid a foreign country. They absolutely deserve to know that, and those individuals need to be held accountable.
I would also say that it's interesting that he won't do so. I wonder why that is. Well, perhaps it's because it makes the Liberal Party look bad.
Again, he was the one who denied that there was election interference from China, for example. He's the one who denied there was any issue here at all, and yet here we are. He continues to deny that there's any issue there. I would suspect that this is why he's not releasing the names.
I think we could put this to bed. It's rapidly devolving into some McCarthy witch hunt as a result of the Prime Minister's actions. I think we can easily clear this up today by releasing the names. Canadians deserve to know. The Prime Minister should be showing leadership in this regard and in ensuring that he's actually taking action on this intelligence.
The last thing I would say, Mr. Chair, is that it's not clear why we are taking intelligence if we're not able to utilize it to ensure that these individuals are held accountable. If they semi-wittingly or unwittingly know, then they should know and they should be informed, so I think it is imperative that Parliament learn who these people are, if any, and move forward with that information.
Mr. Chair, I'd also say again that the responsibility for national security lies with the Prime Minister. The only reason we are here is that he has failed to protect it, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.