Green Party Leader Elizabeth May holds a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says a top-secret briefing on foreign interference did not allow her to access key intelligence documents.
Former special rapporteur David Johnston had released an initial report on alleged meddling in Canadian elections in May, along with a confidential annex of evidence that he said opposition party leaders who obtained relevant clearance could review.
May and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh have both received top-secret security clearance, and May was the first to attend a confidential briefing on Wednesday.
She told reporters this morning that the briefing included just two documents and 25 pages in total, which cited intelligence reports that she was not allowed to read.
May says she is asking the Privy Council Office for access to all such records, saying it’s otherwise impossible for any politician to assess the credibility of Johnson’s findings.
The B.C. MP is critical of whoever has been leaking intelligence to media, as well as what she calls inappropriate levels of partisanship, saying both are undermining Canada’s security.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2023.
