They literally cannot. I found this out through reading a different article.
“The report comes from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, known as NSICOP, which is made up of MPs and senators from all parties.
If any member of the committee were to disclose publicly what they know, they could face years in prison.”
The Public Safety Minister insisted that federal law prevents the government from releasing further information about the people at the centre of those allegations, and he urged party leaders to instead get their own classified briefings and said Canadians should have confidence that police can investigate and lay charges when warranted.
So far, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has declined to accept a briefing, saying it would muzzle him. Instead, he says the names should be released by the government.
The House partisan gamesmanship needs to be ignored if we're going to be serious about national security and sovereignty. Canadians deserve to know if their member of Parliament wittingly aided a foreign interference operation. We need to know right now. The notion that an election could occur while undisclosed traitors are on the ballot? This would be catastrophic.
There are absolutely no excuses for the current government's horrific file on foreign interference:
Not already having a foreign agent registry in place
Not acting on the NSICOP report immediately
Attempting to discredit the NSICOP report
Voting against transparency and accountability on this issue at every opportunity
Threatening a sequel to the 'Special Rapporteur' circus by suggesting that an 'internal review' will somehow be satisfactory
Failing to say something even as simple as 'Members compromised by a foreign power should be removed from Parliament'.
There's no good reason for any of it, and their inaction is an open invitation to China, India, and others for further interference.
It's impossible to agree with Minister LeBlanc. Canadians cannot have confidence that police can investigate and lay charges when warranted. The NSICOP report details how our system is configured in such a way as to make that difficult or impossible.
But refuses to get the clearance that they have so they he can see the names himself....
Because if he gets the clearance he won't be allowed to share the information.....
The clearance that they have.... That is preventing them from releasing the names.
Did I miss something here? If Pierre is expecting them to break the law by revealing names, and they won't, why doesn't he step up, get the clearance and then break the law himself?
What you're missing is that the minister that can make sharing the names legal via changing the required clearance is part of the government that refuses to do just that.