Rather than taking action against nefarious foreign actors looking to poison our democracy, the PM used the opportunity to sling mud at his opponents

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

For competent leaders, managing national security and international upheaval involves putting partisan mudslinging on hold. For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, partisan mudslinging is the whole point. Problems are there to be politicized, not fixed.

His latest circus act involved testifying before an inquiry on foreign interference — inspired in part by “irregularities” in a 2019 Liberal nomination race that were uncovered by intelligence officials — to inflame suspicions about the Conservatives.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Don't have an account? Create Account

On Wednesday, Trudeau told the foreign interference commission, which was established last fall, that he has “the names of a number of parliamentarians, former parliamentarians and/or candidates in the Conservative Party of Canada who are engaged, or at high risk of, or for whom there is clear intelligence around, foreign interference.”

Who these compromised Conservatives are, Trudeau won’t say. His vague allegation is based on the work of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), which reported in June that Chinese officials interfered twice in Conservative leadership races. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre can’t do anything to dispel it, because he won’t join NSICOP. And for good........

© National Post