Interference inquiry to ‘shed light’ on allegations parliamentarians colluded

The public inquiry into foreign interference will probe explosive allegations parliamentarians  “wittingly” helped foreign governments and demonstrated behaviour that one federal leader said could be described as “dumb, unethical” or “foolish.”

“The Commission takes note of the government’s decision to resort to the process of an independent commission of inquiry to shed light on the facts,” said the inquiry in a public notice Monday.

Last week, the House of Commons backed a Bloc Québécois motion for the inquiry to investigate the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ (NSICOP) startling report that federal politicians allegedly colluded with foreign governments over the last five years.

The committee of parliamentarians, which is made up of MPs from all parties, “examined information” gathered between Sept. 1, 2018, and March 15 of this year.

The inquiry says it doesn’t need to expand its mandate because the current terms of reference allow it to dig into the allegations, adding it has access to all 4,000 documents, totaling 33,000 pages, reviewed by NSICOP “on which it based its conclusions.”

“Some passages in this NSICOP’s special report suggest that Canadian parliamentarians may have wittingly or unwittingly participated in acts of foreign interference. These passages have raised concerns and provoked heated exchanges among parliamentarians and in the media,” read the notice.

But many of the allegations outlined in the NSICOP report did not come up during the inquiry’s public hearings last month, which detailed “troubling events” in the last two elections.

Last week, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who both have received the security clearance to review the