OTTAWA—Canada’s new national Security Committee is facing a difficult test to gain the trust of the intelligence community after one of its members was subject to an online extortion attempt, intelligence experts say.Ex-Conservative MP Tony Clement stepped down from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) two weeks ago after revealing he sent intimate images and a video to an unknown party. Clement said the party then blackmailed him for 50,000 Euros.But the impact of Clement’s actions may go beyond his political career and the women he had relationships with, security watchers said. For intelligence agencies, it means more skepticism about NSICOP — and civilian oversight into spy operations.“If the national security and intelligence community here in Canada does not believe that this committee can be trusted, then sharing (information) could be seriously limited and co-operation could be minimized,” said Stephanie Carvin, a former CSIS analyst and current Carleton University professor.“I don’t believe the Clement issue is fatal, but it is just a problem in that this is a formative stage (for the committee). And MPs have to demonstrate that they are capable of this kind of work and trustworthy enough to carry it out.”NSICOP was created in 2017; part of the Liberal government’s pledge to provide oversight into national security and intelligence operations. Canada is the last of the “Five Eyes” countries — including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand — to provide civilian oversight for national security agencies.The committee, chaired by veteran Liberal MP David McGuinty, meets in secret to review the operations of agencies like the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE).Until two weeks ago, Clement was a member of that committee; cleared to receive sensiti ...
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