Roundup: New NSICOP line-up, sans Conservatives

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Because the issue of NSICOP/Winnipeg Lab documents refuses to die, yesterday’s iteration was that the prime minister announced the new composition of NSICOP, and it didn’t include any Conservatives, either MPs or senators, because they refused to put any names forward. Erin O’Toole then tweeted that this was because it was somehow hiding documents, which is a complete and utter falsehood.

To recap: those Winnipeg Lab documents were released in an unredacted form to NSICOP to review. The Conservatives withdrew from NSICOP because it didn’t suit their needs to actually review the documents—the whole point was the song and dance about a “cover-up.” If, during the years that NSICOP has been operating, any of its reports were unfairly redacted and information was being hidden from the public that its membership felt was important, they would have resigned in protest. That did not happen because it was working. And even if it were a full parliamentary committee, redactions still happen because it’s still national security.

O’Toole is acting in bad faith so that he can wink and nod to conspiracy theorists and put on a show that doesn’t reflect reality. He knows it, and he should be called out on it.

Good reads:

  • The government is set to announce more measures to assist Ukraine, possibly including cybersecurity and intelligence assistance.
  • Canadian forces in Latvia say they are working to ensure they have enough supplies and lines of communication in the event of Russian aggression.
  • Ahmed Hussen met with his provincial counterparts to discuss housing issues in advance of a Commons finance committee meeting on housing inflation.
  • Marc Miller says the government will be turning over thousands of more documents related to residential schools, after reviewing what they had in their possession.
  • A family of four was found frozen to death near the US border in Manitoba, attempting to cross from Canada to the US, while a Florida man has been arrested.
  • Canada Post has been backtracking after being called out over a policy that didn’t allow employees to wear their own N95 masks.
  • The industry committee met to discuss the proposed Chinese takeover of a lithium company which the Liberals argued is not really a Canadian company.
  • John Michael McGrath looks through the draft report of Ontario’s housing affordability task force, and the drastic recommendations therein.
  • Stephanie Carvin notes the moves Canada is making to start being more assertive in the Indo-Pacific space, after years of being on the sidelines.
  • Robert Hiltz calls out Jagmeet Singh as a policy lightweight who prefers to play the role of influencer over a party leader who might have to ruffle feathers.

Odds and ends:

Here is a look at the post-political lives of our former prime ministers.

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