• voluble@lemmy.ca
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    5 months ago

    I don’t blame anyone for wanting to know the information about this up-front. We would absolutely not be here talking about this issue, with pdf copies of a detailed, public NSICOP report if not for a whistleblower who acted well outside the established channels to alert Canadians to institutional inaction on foreign interference. The NSICOP report actually admits as much.

    The established system is not functioning as it should, and the current government has shown not only limited interest, but active unwillingness to do what’s right when it comes to foreign interference. Knowing these things, and then being scolded to “Wait for the system to work as intended”, is brutal. We don’t have reason to believe that the system will actually work as intended. The current government is to blame for allowing this erosion of trust, and if they’re tired of hearing “tell us the names”, they shouldn’t have sat on intelligence advice for 6 years. This situation would be playing out completely differently if the current government had even a slightly positive track record on dealing with foreign interference.

    We deserve to live in a society where MPs who wittingly take part in the subversion of Canadian democracy can expect to be promptly imprisoned. Instead, we live in a society where it’s not unthinkable that nothing further will happen or be disclosed about this issue.

    • Shambles@beehaw.org
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      5 months ago

      Yeah I agree with what you’ve said but we also deserve to live in a society where corruption hasn’t become legalized through lobbying and where politicians are incentivized to sabotage meaningful progress for their personal gains, but here we are. You can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which fills up first.

      Making a political and public spectacle of this is clearly for political gain. They all know the names cannot legally be released at this time and the reason they are doing this to piss people off to get more votes in the next election, and it’s working.

      I agree they are a train wreck when it comes to political interference, and that is alarming, but if you think any other ruling government wouldn’t be doing the same shit or worse then we don’t live in the same world.

      I’m not condoning anything they’re doing, but I think that if the opposition gave a shit as much as they claim to, they would obtain the the security clearance they have been offered and get the names and push for criminal investigations. They have intentionally not done that so they can continue to weaponize this for their own gain. That is why I wish they would just stfu about this already and do something.

      • voluble@lemmy.ca
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        5 months ago

        Agreed - “do something” is the way forward here. That said, every day the Liberals take heat on their inaction on foreign interference, the profile of the issue rises. And I think in the big picture, that’s good for Canadian democracy. Hopefully it leads parties to take stronger and more detailed stances in their platforms for combating election interference. But there I go wishing again…

        Like everyone else, I too am baffled that security clearance is the hill that Poilievre is willing die on. Makes him look like just another House pugilist who is dug in on a stance and deaf to context and reason.

        FWIW, I think the NDP has had consistently reasonable and principled stances on this issue since the CSIS leak. I like the cut of their jib on this. So, I think there’s good reason to believe that they’d be doing far better on this file than the Liberals. I understand the “every party sucks” mentality, but I don’t actually think it’s true in this circumstance.

        • Shambles@beehaw.org
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          5 months ago

          Yeah you’ve got a point there the NDP have seemed to be both consistent and concerned about the allegations which is a plus for them.

          I don’t really think every party sucks, I think the problems stem from the current system being busted.

          I don’t have the answer but something where all parties work together repenting the Canadians who voted for them instead of chasing elections and short sighted/term goals might be a step in the right direction.