44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 1, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/1/22 2:48:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 33 million Canadians had their mobility data secretly tracked by the Public Health Agency of Canada without their consent. This unprecedented level of surveillance on our citizens came to light when the Liberals admitted not only that they did it, but also that they planned to continue spying on Canadians for another five years.
Protecting the privacy of Canadians is the foundation of our freedoms. Sadly, under these Liberals, the foundations of our democracy are crumbling when this type of massive overreach happens.
My question is a simple one: Who authorized the secret spying on Canadians?
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- Feb/1/22 2:49:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. He is right to emphasize the importance of protecting people's privacy. I assume he is also emphasizing the importance of protecting people's health and safety. We are doing that together.
We are working with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to ensure that the methods employed, as we know, effectively rely on confidential, anonymized aggregate data to protect people's health and safety, as well as their privacy.
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- Feb/1/22 2:49:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, instead of being focused on normalizing lockdowns, maybe the Liberals should have been focused on keeping our economy open. If someone were to connect the dots, they would see a pattern of massive overreach by the Liberals. They tried to seize control of Parliament at the beginning of the pandemic to completely control spending and taxing. They got caught secretly collecting banking data. They attempted to limit speech and what Canadians can see on the Internet, and now this.
This pattern of control is only seen in countries that many Canadians have fled from. How could anyone think that secretly gathering this data without the consent of Canadians was a good idea?
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- Feb/1/22 2:50:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I already answered the question. However, I thank my colleague for giving me another opportunity to say that we did things right in our country to maintain people's trust, reassure them and protect our economy. Canada's economy is far superior to the economies of other countries around the world who have also been grappling with COVID-19. What is more, we have based our work on science, and Canada has the lowest mortality rate of all the G7 countries, after Japan.
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- Feb/1/22 2:50:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in 2020, when thousands of Canadians were out thousands of dollars for cancelled flights, the minister told us there was nothing he could do to get them refunds. He told us the Canadian Transportation Agency was an independent arm's-length body. Now we have documents showing the government was not just talking to the CTA, but actively convincing them to let airlines withhold refunds.
Why were senior government officials lobbying the CTA to protect airlines' bottom lines instead of standing up for Canadians?
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- Feb/1/22 2:51:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for reminding us, and reminding all Canadians, that our government was there to help Canadians with their refunds. Our government was there to help airlines struggling with COVID, to support them and to save jobs, to save the skills we need, and to save our economy.
I want to thank him for that reminder because our government will always be there helping Canadians.
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- Feb/1/22 2:52:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that sounded to me like a reminder that the Liberals are here for big business, not for Canadians.
I can give another example. The Liberals keep saying that they understand that this pandemic will not be over in Canada until it is over everywhere, but they are dragging their feet on the TRIPS waiver and have refused to add COVID-19 medicines to Canada's access to medicines regime. Their promises to COVAX are useless.
Will the Prime Minister finally take the action necessary to ensure vaccine equity around the world?
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- Feb/1/22 2:52:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government will always be and has always been a strong advocate for vaccine equity. Canada supports a multilateral approach on intellectual property, specifically for COVID-19 vaccines.
We have been working hard with our colleagues around the WTO table right from the very beginning. Through our leadership at the Ottawa group, we continue to convene these important conversations so we can ensure that everyone gets vaccinated around the world.
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- Feb/1/22 2:53:19 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Mr. Speaker, over the holidays, omicron had a serious impact on constituents and businesses in my riding of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel. Thankfully, the House had passed Bill C-2 before we rose, ensuring that we had support for businesses and individuals still facing restrictions and lockdowns put in place by provinces in response to the new wave.
Can the Deputy Prime Minister remind the House of some of the measures in the bill and how they have been supporting Canadians?
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- Feb/1/22 2:53:49 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her question and for her hard work for her constituents. Thanks to Bill C-2, we now have the Canada worker lockdown benefit. This ensures that workers affected by new public health restrictions are receiving immediate financial support.
We also have the local lockdown program, which provides businesses faced with omicron lockdowns imposed by local jurisdictions with wage and rent subsidy support. Unfortunately, both the Conservatives and the NDP voted against these essential support measures, but I am glad we were able to put them in place to support Canadians.
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- Feb/1/22 2:54:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while lithium is critical in the production of electric vehicles, last week we learned that the minister fast-tracked the sale of a Canadian lithium company to a state-owned enterprise from China without conducting a full, national security review. However, for three long years, the same minister has refused to say no to Huawei building Canada's 5G network.
Why is it so easy for him to say yes to risky takeovers of Canadian companies, yet so hard for him to say no to dubious foreign takeovers?
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- Feb/1/22 2:55:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us bring some facts into this discussion. Last week I was clear to Canadians and to the committee that, when it comes to the Neo Lithium transaction, this transaction was subject to a full national security review involving all the relevant departments of the government and all the intelligence and security agencies.
In addition, it was subject to scrutiny in accordance with the guidelines I put into place in March. We should not mislead the House when it comes to issues of national security.
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- Feb/1/22 2:55:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is not entitled to his own facts. He also refused to tell Canadians whether he consulted with our allies before making the hasty decision to allow Neo Lithium to be sold to China. We assume his answer is no and that he did not consult. Our American allies, and our other allies, banned Huawei from their 5G networks long ago and cannot understand why the Liberal government continues to dither and delay.
It has been three years. When will the minister stop appeasing the communist regime in Beijing and finally say no way to Huawei?
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- Feb/1/22 2:56:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member knows how much I appreciate him. He is a great colleague.
However, I will say no to misleading Canadians when it comes to the issue of national security. I am very happy to hear him talk about our network, because Canadians at home understand that this decision will have an impact not only on this generation but also on future generations, so colleagues like him should understand that national security must come first when we make a decision like that. That is why we will make the right decision for Canadians.
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- Feb/1/22 2:57:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada must say no to Huawei. The Washington Post recently reported how Huawei has developed voice and facial recognition technology that helps governments track and monitor political dissidents, manage re-education camps and help retailers track shoppers. This is appalling. While Canada's most trusted allies have banned Huawei from their networks, the Liberal government refuses to do so.
Again, I ask the minister when will he say no way to Huawei?
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- Feb/1/22 2:57:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy that we are taking the time today in the House to talk about our infrastructure network because Canadians at home understand how important it will be for them and their futures. We know we are going to the data economy. We know what communication and networks will be important.
That is why Canadians, those who are watching at home, and I know they are watching today, understand that when we make a decision like that, we need national security to come first. That is exactly what we are going to do and make the best decision in the interest of all Canadians.
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- Feb/1/22 2:58:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are going to the data economy, but not with China. Our own intelligence agencies have long warned the Prime Minister about allowing Huawei into our 5G networks. It turns out they were right. For years, Huawei denied that it was a tool of the communist regime in Beijing. However, now we have evidence that the company is deeply implicated in designing surveillance tools to keep track of millions if not billions of people all around the world.
When will the minister make a decision on Huawei, and when will he finally say no way to Huawei?
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- Feb/1/22 2:58:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one thing is clear: A bit of facts in the House sometimes helps for understanding. One thing I can—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/1/22 2:59:09 p.m.
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I am sorry, but I have to interrupt the hon. minister. I am trying to hear his answer, but I am having a hard time.
I will let the hon. minister continue.
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- Feb/1/22 2:59:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was about to say that we are not going to take any lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to national security, and I will tell members why. We review four times more transactions, plus twice as many transactions as the Conservatives did when they were in government.
Canadians know that we care when it comes to national security. We will take no compromise when it comes to national security, and we will make the best decision in the interests of all Canadians.
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