Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told the Foreign Interference Commission he expects officials will make a “good faith” effort to exercise transparency after the attorney general has pushed back on the onerous redaction process to release classified documents.
“In no way would we seek to use the amount of work necessary on our part to allow the commission to do its work properly to be an ‘empêchement’ [obstacle] or a source of delay or frustration,” Mr. LeBlanc said during his Feb. 2 testimony before the inquiry.
“So there will be a very robust good faith effort on the part of all of these officials.”
The Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference held the first phase of its public hearings this week, with experts and government officials discussing how the commission can fulfill its transparency mandate without jeopardizing national security.
The commission has access to unredacted documents related to its mandate. It sent the government a sample of 13 such documents to see how they would be redacted for public release.
The AG called this a “deviation from their standard process” and said this level of National Security Confidentiality review is “not sustainable if replicated over a longer term.”
“It is clear that redactions of documents on a large scale will not be a productive way forward within the timeframe allotted.”
Parties participating in the commission have expressed concerns that, in the end, not much could be made public during the inquiry.
“What can you say to this commission and the Canadian public to reassure them that nonetheless, the government will do the job and we'll look at documents and will redact them?” asked lawyer Christian LeBlanc, who represents legacy media outlets.
Mr. LeBlanc said the fact the commission has access to unredacted documents is an “important reassurance to Canadians.” He also mentioned the terms of reference of the inquiry contemplate other mechanisms for the release of information such as document summaries.
Why Not Proceed Earlier
With Mr. LeBlanc expressing his full support for the inquiry, he was asked by a commission counsel why his government didn’t proceed with a public inquiry from the get-go.Under pressure last March, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had appointed former governor general David Johnston as special rapporteur on foreign interference. He later resigned under pressure from opposition parties, with the Tories calling Mr. Johnston’s first report a “whitewash.”
After Mr. Johnston resigned, the government opened the door to holding an inquiry. Negotiations over the terms of reference and the choice of commissioner were held between major political parties over the summer.
The minister said he hopes the inquiry will help build up “citizen understanding and resiliency” regarding the threat of foreign interference.
“The best and most effective weapon to detect and counter and disrupt these efforts is often citizen understanding and the protection of diaspora.”
One diaspora group has pulled out of the inquiry this week to protest Beijing-linked politicians being granted full standing, which includes the ability to question witnesses.
