Justin Trudeau made some waves at the public inquiry into foreign interference this week. Trudeau claimed that CSIS had provided him with names of conservative parliamentarians who had been engaged in or were at high risk of being ensnared in foreign interference. Trudeau added that he had directed CSIS to pass this information on to conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. CSIS indicated they could not do so because Poilievre refuses to get security clearance.

Trudeau subsequently blasted Poilievre at the inquiry, stating,

“I’m getting a little more partisan than I tried to in this case, but it is so egregious to me that the leader of the Official Opposition, who is certainly trying very hard to become prime minister, is choosing to play partisan games with foreign interference.”

It is noted that other countries such as the United States and the UK have given credence to the claims of for interference, identified by CSIS and passed on to Trudeau. Poilievre responded to this with a lengthy statement, basically saying that Trudeau was lying under oath, and that he should release the names of these parliamentarians. Poilievre knows full well that any confidential information, including names, passed on by CSIS, cannot be released in public. Yet he is still playing these games.

Trudeau is surprised at the opposition leader’s reticence to get security clearance,

“The decision of the leader of the Conservative Party to not receive the necessary clearance to get those names and protect the integrity of his party is bewildering to me and entirely lacks common sense.”

Poilievre claim that he has not gotten security clearance because it would prevent him from speaking freely on matters of foreign interference. Huh?

Former CSIS director, Richard Fadden stated that

“Just because you have a security clearance doesn’t mean you have to become a Carthusian monk and never speak.”

Mr. Poilievre, you cannot play duck and cover on this issue. You need to get your security clearance. End of story.