Poilievre Still Doesn't Have His Security Clearance
Yes really.
News broke on March 24 that CSIS had evidence of foreign interference in the Conservative Party leadership race in 2022. This isn’t exactly new information, as people have been alluding to it—if not outright saying it—for a while now. However, it is significant that this information is coming from CSIS. They also mentioned that they were unable to brief Poilievre because he still lacks the security clearance required to receive such briefings.
What does this practically mean?
Essentially, they’re alleging that members of the Indian government or intelligence community organized support in Canada from South Asian members of the community for Poilievre. Practically, that could involve anything from registering with the Conservative Party to vote in the leadership race, to putting up signs, to posting support on social media. It’s unknown exactly what actions were taken.
What is clear is that there is no known evidence right now suggesting that Poilievre or any of his inner circle were complicit in this interference. Additionally, there is no current evidence to support the idea that the interference would have changed the result of the leadership race.
So, what’s the big deal?
The significant issue here is that CSIS could not brief Poilievre on the evidence due to his lack of security clearance. While there’s no evidence against Poilievre himself, there may be evidence implicating someone in his party, and he has no idea. If elected as Prime Minister, he could unknowingly appoint this person to a cabinet position.
What could potentially be done?
Unfortunately, there are limited actions that can be taken. CSIS can’t really take any action on their own. They can brief the Prime Minister and inform the RCMP. However, in many cases, evidence obtained by CSIS is not admissible in courts, so it would be up to the RCMP to conduct an investigation and gather their own evidence.
Even the Prime Minister can’t do much. If CSIS briefs the Prime Minister with evidence that Poilievre knowingly colluded with foreign officials to affect the leadership race, only the Conservative Party’s internal policies can remove Poilievre from his leadership position. Beyond that, the Prime Minister could call for a public inquiry, but he cannot overturn the results, and the RCMP would need to file criminal charges.
This heightens concerns about Poilievre’s refusal to obtain security clearance, as he is the primary individual who could act swiftly on such matters. It is important to note that Poilievre’s chief of staff does have clearance and has seen the briefings. However, it remains to be seen how much that may help.
The timing is suspicious.
CSIS did not release this information until after an election was announced. This information is damaging to Poilievre and his campaign—he can dismiss it all he wants, but it’s almost certainly affecting his polling. CSIS may have released this information now due to pressure from the Liberal Party. It’s also possible that they’ve exhausted all other means and, with an election now announced, felt it important enough to make it public.
Three things can all be true:
The foreign interference in the Conservative Party race isn’t a big deal, as it didn’t affect the outcome, and Poilievre and his inner circle very likely didn’t know about it.
The timing is suspicious.
Poilievre must obtain his security clearance; his lack of it is highly problematic.