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I do not know if she will be able to answer this, but I really think Canadians want to know.

First, is Dr. Porter still a Privy Council officer? I know it is fairly theoretical because he is not in Ottawa, where would he get access to our secrets, but it is certainly not appropriate for him to remain a Privy Council officer.

My second question is this. Why was it that these very clear concerns put forward by Gilles Duceppe were ignored in the process that occurred in appointing Dr. Porter first as a member of SIRC and then as a chairperson of it? I think Canadians want to know.

I am glad to see that Chuck Strahl has taken the reins. I do not think there is anyone I respect more than Chuck Strahl. However, how on earth did Dr. Porter, who professes his allegiance to Sierra Leone, ever end up in that sensitive position?

Candice Bergen: Mr. Speaker, armchair quarterbacks are usually not the best quarterbacks, but it is easy after the fact to make these observations.

I want to assure the hon. member that whatever the allegations against Mr. Porter, they do not relate to his work as a member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee. Nevertheless, the government has taken steps to strengthen the screening process. That is an important part of the work the government has done and continues to do. The measures we have taken and put in place are further safeguards to ensure the continued protection of confidential government information.

I appreciate the hon. member’s comments with regard to Chuck Strahl. I agree with her. He is and will continue to be a great leader of that organization.

I appreciate the hon. member’s contributions in so many ways. As a government, we need to look at what we have done and will continue to do to build on our strengths and ensure that anything we have missed continues to be accounted for.

The post Public Safety appeared first on Elizabeth May.

“Although he appears allergic to accountability, with the stroke of a pen Prime Minister Harper could demonstrate to Canadians that he actually takes the Arthur Porter debacle seriously and remove him from the Privy Council,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands.  “The fact that the Prime Minister has allowed Porter to retain his Privy Councilor status and maintain his access to Canada’s secrets shows a shocking disregard for the seriousness of this situation.”

In 2008, at the request of the Prime Minister, Arthur Porter was appointed to the Privy Council and the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), which is charged with the oversight of Canada’s intelligence agencies and privy to our national top secret information.  Two years later, in 2010, Porter was promoted, again at the request of the Prime Minister, to Chair of the SIRC.

“We understand that Mr. Porter’s health has deteriorated, and we wish him a swift recovery. But the fact remains that the appointment of Arthur Porter to the SIRC, first as Member then as the Chair, is perhaps the most shocking failure of judgment and due diligence in Canadian history,” said May.

“Although the Prime Minister has repeatedly claimed that the allegations against Mr. Porter have no bearing on his time with the SIRC, Canadians have been left scratching their heads that this man, who now claims to be a citizen of Sierra Leone and refuses to return to Canada to answer charges of corruption, gained complete access to all of Canada’s top secret intelligence.

“I call on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to immediately remove Arthur Porter from the Privy Council of Canada.”

The post Why won’t Prime Minister Harper remove Arthur Porter from the Privy Council? appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise for the first time in question period an issue that is of some concern nationally to the Prime Minister, which is the strange case of Dr. Porter.

Can it be explained how Arthur Porter ended up with top secret security clearance, as chair of the Security and Intelligence Review Committee, and as a member of Privy Council? Were normal background checks suspended? Importantly, is he still a member of Privy Council?

Vic Toews: Mr. Speaker, Arthur Porter submitted his resignation from his position as chair of the Security and Intelligence Review Committee. We accepted this resignation. The allegations Mr. Porter is facing do not have anything to do with his former responsibilities.

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