Opposition leaders want classified briefing on Iran's attack on Canadian troops as Liberals maintain secrecy

OTTAWA — Federal parties whose leaders have their top-secret security clearance say they would welcome a briefing on an Iranian missile strike against an airbase where Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel are stationed, if the offer is on the table.

Their comments were in response to Defence Minister David McGuinty’s suggestion Tuesday that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre should get his security clearance to get briefed on the situation on the ground and better understand why the government has been withholding information about the reported Iranian missile attack on the Canadian section of the Ali Al-salem Air Base in Kuwait .

Canadians and members of Parliament only learned of the attack in a story published by Quebec newspaper La Presse last Thursday, 11 days after the strike .

Since then, the government has not confirmed anything other than that none of the approximately 200 Canadian soldiers based there were killed in the attack.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May told the National Post the last top-secret briefing she received was on foreign interference, back when Justin Trudeau was still prime minister.

“Certainly, I always like having an opportunity to ask questions,” May said when asked if she would take part in a briefing on the Iranian attack. “I would like any opportunity again to be of service of that type of being able to look at documents and share what I can.”

Interim NDP Leader Don Davies, who has his top-secret security clearance from his time spent serving as a member of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, said no one in government has offered him any briefings on the situation in the Gulf, but that he would like one.

“The more information, the better,” Davies said.

“We’re completely in the dark,” he later added. “The opposition is completely in the dark.”

Bloc Québécois defence critic, Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, said in a statement that his party had received no offer for a briefing from the government on the issue. Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet has his security clearance and could receive the briefing.

“While all other countries have been transparent in this regard, including Italy (whose air base) was hit in this same attack, the Liberals are choosing silence and are stubbornly refusing to answer our questions,” added Savard-Tremblay.

Bloc spokesperson Julien Coulombe-Bonnafous said that the Blanchet would be open to a briefing as long as he would not be muzzled in what he could share publicly that would benefit the public interest in his view.

Opposition parties have been criticizing the government for days for not being more forthcoming about the March 1 attack, which took place the day after war broke out with the U.S. and Israel attacking Iran.

The day the story broke in La Presse, Chief of the Defence Staff Jennie Carignan, CSIS director Dan Rogers and RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme were seen leaving a cabinet meeting where Prime Minister Mark Carney and his ministers had been huddled all morning.

When Carney was asked about the La Presse report later that day during a media availability in the Northwest Territories, he said he is not “the only spokesperson for the government,” adding that all CAF members are safe.

Conservative defence critic James Bezan was not available for an interview but said in a statement that the Liberals withheld information about those strikes for nearly two weeks.

“The Carney Liberals are clearly making excuses now because they know they were wrong. It is time for this government to end their culture of secrecy. Canadians don’t need special security clearances for the Liberal government to treat them with respect,” he said.

Bezan said officials could have “assessed the situation much sooner and responsibly informed Canadians without compromising the security of our troops in the region.”

Since then, McGuinty has been repeatedly pressed on the issue by the media.

“With all due respect to my colleagues in the Conservative party, we will take our lead from the operational experts in the Canadian Armed Forces,” said McGuinty during an unrelated press conference in Brampton, Ont., on Tuesday.

“I think it’s up to the Conservative party to explain why they might want to pursue information or reveal information that would compromise that security,” said McGuinty.

“And dare I go one step further, I think if Mr. Poilievre had the requisite security clearance, he might get a briefing that would indicate otherwise, and he might actually change his perspective,” the defence minister added.

On Wednesday, McGuinty said opposition parties are making a “mistake” by pressing for more information on CAF’s operational security in the region.

The NDP’s Davies said pushing for answers is the parties’ role, adding that the safety of armed forces members and possible involvement in a conflict “are among the gravest issues” that confront a government.

“Instead of shooting the messenger, I think that perhaps they should look for ways to better inform opposition parties,” said Davies.

As opposition parties have noted, allied nations have been more transparent in sharing information about air strikes that have struck their military bases in the Middle East.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that an Iranian projectile hit an air base in the United Arab Emirates where Australian personnel were stationed, sharing the exact location and the time of the strike hours after it happened on Wednesday.

Davies said that he does understand that some “discretion” is needed in terms of releasing information when it comes to ensuring that CAF personnel are safe in the region, but that Carney government is one to “hide behind the veil of secrecy pretty quickly.”

“I think they could have been more forthright and also have respected whatever kind of military sensitivities may have been in play.”

National Post

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