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Originally Posted by Fuzz
I posted this a few days ago with no response, does anyone know what he is getting at with that last sentence, and is it what I suspect? If so, that's gotta be a big skeleton.
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Logically, there are really only 2 reasons why he wouldn't want to get his security clearance:
1) He won't pass it, or it'll reveal some damaging stuff that he wants to keep under wraps in case it leaks.
2) He wants to maintain the ability to lie about stuff without repercussions. If he receives classified information and then lies about it, then he can get into trouble. I guess that's his idea of being "gagged".
If it's #1, he's just hoping to run out the clock and get elected. Prime Ministers don't actually have to go through the invasive security clearance; they're just granted it automatically.
For #2, his argument has been debunked many times by former CSIS Directors:
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Richard Fadden, former CSIS director and national security and intelligence advisor to Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau
“One, I think he has a responsibility to the public to ensure that people in his party are worthy of being members of the party and members of the House of Commons, and if there’s a suspicion that they’re not, I’d argue it’s his duty to find out and to do something about it. And I guess secondly, he argues that if he has a clearance and he’s been given a briefing, he can’t argue about it. Well, if he never has a briefing, he’s arguing in a vacuum, so I’m not sure how that helps him in a practical sense.”
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Quote:
Ward Elcock, former CSIS director
“The whole thing would be a lot simpler if he would just get clearance … What it frankly says to me, listening to Mr. Poilievre’s normal criticism of the government, he likes to make criticisms that are pretty far-reaching without any visible support. I guess I assume he’s afraid that if he gets a briefing, then he will actually know some facts that he can’t criticize on the basis of those facts. It’s hard to criticize when you actually know something. “
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https://globalnews.ca/news/10989610/...ret-clearance/