Conservatives and Liberals trade barbs during testimony over India controversy

OTTAWA – Canada’s top security and intelligence officials appeared before a parliamentary committee Tuesday to discuss the Indian government’s links to assassinations in this country, but MPs focused most of their questions on partisan talking points about leaks and security clearances.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, the prime minister’s national security adviser Nathalie Drouin, the head of CSIS Daniel Rogers, and the deputy ministers of public safety and foreign affairs all appeared to testify about the ongoing crisis with India.

Earlier this month, Duheme revealed at a press conference that the RCMP believed the Indian government was involved in a wave of violence in Canada, including homicides and extortion attempts.

This led to the government expelling six Indian diplomats from Canada.

Drouin told MPs on the committee about attempts to confront Indian officials with the information. She said that included several meetings the Indian government abruptly cancelled, before a meeting in Singapore with Drouin, the deputy minister of foreign affairs David Morrison and the RCMP’s deputy commissioner, where she said the case was clearly laid out.

“The deputy commissioner spoke to and demonstrated a body of evidence that established clear links between agents of the government of India and violent criminal activities taking place in Canada,” she said.

Drouin said Indian officials at that meeting rejected Canada’s evidence, but agreed to keep the meeting confidential so talks could continue. However, she said stories began appearing in Indian media right away and the Canadian government felt it needed to go public.

“By going public, the government of India clearly signalled that they were not going to be accountable or take the necessary actions we needed to ensure public safety,” Drouin told MPs.

Drouin and Morrison also shared information with the Washington Post, which she said they felt was necessary

“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.”

Conservative MP Raquel Dancho said she was disturbed that information the prime minister didn’t reveal to Canadians was leaked to a U.S. newspaper.

“I just find that kind of unfair to the Canadian public that details were released in advance to the Washington Post and confirmed to the Washington Post, but not provided to to Canada,” she said. “Don’t you find that odd?”

Drouin said the briefing to the Washington Post did not include any classified information and contained the same information that was provided to opposition party leaders here.

She said it was part of shoring up Canada’s international case to our allies.

While Conservative MPS asked several questions about the leak to the Washington Post, Liberal MPs asked multiple questions about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s decision not to seek a security clearance.

Poilievre has been offered such a clearance, but has declined to go through the process arguing it would muzzle him and prevent him from talking.

Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal asked Rogers, the newly appointed head of CSIS, to weigh in on the issues.

“Can you explain to the committee why it would be the responsible thing to do for Mr. Pierre Poilievre,” he asked.

Rogers answered diplomatically and said CSIS has a responsibility to protect Canadians and political leaders and will do what it can to share information whether a leader chooses to get clearance or not.

He said having a leader who is fully cleared does help share information that can be useful, especially in a broader world of foreign interference.

“From our perspective, the more knowledgeable party leaders are to the threat of foreign interference and to some of the specifics that we’ve seen through our intelligence, the more they can be aware, and the more they may be able to take actions appropriate within their own parties,” Rogers said.

The Liberals asked other questions about the security clearance issues. All of the Liberal MPs on the committee spoke afterwards and accused the Conservatives of focusing on politics rather than the important issues.

“It’s a shame that given these unprecedented allegations, that we can’t have all parties come together in unity for Canadians above whatever partisan and political interests we have,” said MP Jennifer O’Connell.

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