A way to publicly name accused MPs

Members who don't sit on intelligence committee could divulge alleged collaborators

- STEPHANIE LEVITZ, ALEX BALLINGAL

It's unknown whether charges will be laid against any of the MPs alleged to have collaborated with foreign powers. David McGuinty, chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, told reporters this week that it's now up to the RCMP to investigate.

MPs named by top-secret intelligence as aiding foreign interference in Canadian politics continue to go unidentified by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, despite opposition demands to say publicly who they are.

But at least one constitutional expert says it’s possible — and entirely in line with long-established rules — for certain MPs to simply disclose the names from the floor of the House of Commons.

Opposition parliamentarians — and even some Liberals — say not providing their names casts a shadow over all of their peers, and is patently unfair to Canadians who have a right to know.

The issue is now evolving into a partisan free-for-all.

As Trudeau’s Liberals are accused of hiding the names to protect themselves, they accuse Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of deliberately refusing to accept the necessary security clearance to view the intelligence, allowing him to ignore the facts in a bid to score political points.

Politics aside, there is a distinction between MPs on the powerful security committee that published the bombshell allegations this week, and others who don’t sit on the committee and learn the information through separate security briefings.

Here’s a look.

Can the MPs on the committee release the names?

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.