'We’ve come to a very unusual inflection point in Canadian political history whereby national security has become a test for leadership,' says security expert Wesley Wark

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In this week’s episode, John Ivison is joined by national security expert Wesley Wark to talk about the public inquiry into foreign interference being held in Ottawa.

Justin Trudeau was the star witness on Wednesday and lobbed a hand grenade into the proceedings when he said he knew the names of Conservative parliamentarians who were engaged in foreign interference. He said he was “bewildered” that Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has not agreed to seek the necessary security clearance to find out the names himself.

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Poilievre has said that by agreeing to secret briefings, his hands would be tied and he would not be able to use the information.

But Wark said he found Poilievre’s decision “very odd.”

“To me, it just doesn’t make any sense. I’ve had high level security clearance and I know what you can do and not do with it. It would not prevent him finding ways to use that information without betraying it. That’s part of the day-to-day lives of any officials operating in the public domain who have such clearance. It’s not rocket science to figure out how to do it,” he said.

Wark said Trudeau was trying to provide a contrast with the Opposition leader and demonstrate that he is a........

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