OTTAWA – The federal government called “misleading” an intelligence oversight committee’s assertion this week that  it was barred from accessing all or part of 1,000 documents during its review into foreign interference.

The Privy Council Office (PCO) in a statement to National Post on Friday challenged the accusation by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP). NSICOP said in its 2023 annual report that it was not given access to hundreds of documents as part of a review of foreign interference into Canada as the government had cited “cabinet confidence,” despite the committee maintaining secure confidentiality over sensitive information that it sees.