A veteran Ottawa journalist says he and his family have received threats since he was accused of being a Russian agent at a House of Commons committee meeting last month – a claim that he refutes and describes as “absurd”.

“There are now calls for me to be executed or tortured and for my family to be deported,” Ottawa Citizen reporter David Pugliese told members of the House public safety committee on Thursday.

Appearing before the same committee last month, Chris Alexander — former immigration minister in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government and former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan — accused Pugliese of being a Russian agent.

“Mr. Alexander’s fabricated claims are not only far-fetched but dangerous to my family,” Pugliese told the committee. He said he had to increase security around his home as a result.

Alexander claimed that Pugliese was recruited by Russia because of his role as a journalist and provided documents to the committee on these claims. He told the committee the documents are “evidence of a serious effort to undermine Canada’s national security and collective self-defense.”

The documents – copies of which CBC News obtained – are described on the cover as coming from the archives of the State Security Committee in kyiv, Ukraine, and are dated between 1984 and 1990. CBC News has not verified independently the authenticity of the documents. .

Former Conservative minister Chris Alexander in 2014. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Translated versions of the documents name Pugliese but refer to him largely as “Stuart”. They claim the KGB saw him as a potential asset and was looking for one of their agents, “Ivan”, to establish a relationship with him. The documents do not indicate whether such efforts ever led to the recruitment of “Stuart” as an agent.

Pugliese said the documents were filled with “factual errors and lies” about his personal life.

The documents suggest that Pugliese was living in Ottawa in 1984 and had been a student activist; he told MPs that both claims were false. He explained that during the 1980s he worked for an American military publication that covered topics that would not have shed a positive light on the Soviet Union.

“We were writing stories about how to destroy the Soviets from the face of the earth. How to get more weapons. The need for NATO expansion, that sort of thing,” he said.

Pugliese said he had no idea why Alexander made the accusation in the first place.

“I don’t know what was going on in Mr. Alexander’s brain,” he said. He pointed out that he had reported on Alexander when he was a minister.

Pugliese said he had faced similar accusations in the past, including one claiming he was a CIA agent and Taliban sympathizer.

“Fast forward to 2024, I’m a Russian spy. I live an exciting life,” he said sarcastically.

Journalist David Pugliese, right, and Brent Jolly, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), talk while waiting to appear as witnesses before SECU in Ottawa, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press )

Pugliese said Alexander’s allegations would be considered defamation if they had not been made before a parliamentary committee. Testimony before committees is protected by parliamentary privilege.

Alexander told the Canadian Press last month he stood by his statements to the committee. CBC News contacted Alexander for further comment on Thursday.

In his opening statement, Pugliese said he was troubled that no MPs objected to Alexander’s claims. A number of MPs later expressed shock at the accusations against Pugliese and claimed they had not had enough time to review the documents presented by Alexander.

Brent Jolly, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, joined Pugliese on the committee Thursday. He expressed support for the journalist and said Alexander’s comments were “staggering and dangerous.”

“Mr Pugliese has been unnecessarily tarnished and is guilty of nothing other than being a journalist,” Jolly told the committee.