44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 29, 2022 10:00AM
- Nov/29/22 2:21:43 p.m.
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Before we go to question period, I just want to point out that, yesterday, things got a little noisy and heated. When I called out a certain member, by the sounds of it, and I have to admit when I do make a mistake, I called out the wrong member. My apologies go out to the hon. member for Edmonton West for calling him out incorrectly.
I want to ask everyone to not shout out or do what I perceived him to do yesterday and help me not make mistakes again today.
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- Nov/29/22 2:22:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, did our intelligence services, public servants or police inform the Prime Minister of Beijing's interference in our elections, yes or no?
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- Nov/29/22 2:22:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are very serious about the importance of combatting foreign interference, including Chinese interference.
I can reassure the member and all Canadians that the 2019 and 2021 elections were not interfered with in a way that would have significantly changed the outcome of the election. That is what the independent committee's report said.
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- Nov/29/22 2:23:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has used words to obscure the answer. He says that there was not interference in a significant way that would have changed the outcome. Was there any interference of any kind?
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- Nov/29/22 2:23:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as our intelligence services have highlighted many times in many different fora for Canadians, interference in Canadians' affairs by foreign powers is an ongoing thing. Whether it is cyber interference, whether it is interference with communities in Canada, whether it is attempts to influence the media, these are things that take place on an ongoing basis and things that our intelligence agencies and police agencies work very hard to counter. However, Canadians can be reassured that the integrity of our elections was not compromised.
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- Nov/29/22 2:24:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he still will not answer the question. The question was specifically about whether intelligence, law enforcement or public servants briefed him or in any way informed him of any interference in any of our elections.
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- Nov/29/22 2:24:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, back in 2019, we established a non-partisan independent group of top civil servants and intelligence officials to ensure that the integrity of our elections would not be compromised. They watched and reported in the 2019 election. They watched and reported in the 2021 election. In both cases, they confirmed that the integrity of our elections was not compromised.
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- Nov/29/22 2:25:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question was not whether the election was compromised. The question was whether officials in intelligence, law enforcement or the public service at any time informed the Prime Minister of allegations of any interference in our elections, yes or no.
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- Nov/29/22 2:25:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite brought in the element of allegations of interference. I can confirm, based on the news reports that a number of people have been remarking on for the past number of weeks, that I have never gotten any information from any of our security agencies, or police officers, or intelligence officials or public servants of a federal candidate receiving money from China, as the allegations highlighted.
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- Nov/29/22 2:26:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question was not whether he heard allegations of money from China going to a candidate. Obviously, money does not travel on a big ship from the other side of the Pacific, go to the shore and then be delivered to a candidate. That is obviously a denial of an absurdity.
The question is whether the Prime Minister ever got information from the public service, the police or intelligence bodies on any interference of any kind by Beijing in our elections.
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- Nov/29/22 2:27:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I got a report back from our panel of experts established in the national security agencies to report back on whether our elections were subject to foreign interference and they confirmed that the elections were held in full integrity and the outcome was not impacted. Canadians can have full confidence in the integrity of our elections in 2019 and 2021.
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- Nov/29/22 2:27:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my fear is that it will be even more confusing in French.
The head of the RCMP says that they did not investigate then, but that they are investigating now. In addition, the security agencies say that they informed the Prime Minister.
I hope there are no members in the House who benefited from illegal financing. There could be as many as 11. No one wants that to be the case.
In order to protect democracy and trust in our institutions, should the Prime Minister not reveal which ridings were targeted?
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- Nov/29/22 2:28:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, we have all heard these media reports on allegations about China funding certain candidates in the federal election.
I can confirm that none of the experts or officials from our intelligence services shared anything with me about interference where Canadian candidates may have received money directly or indirectly from China.
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- Nov/29/22 2:29:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, whether the Prime Minister says that he does not know or that he is getting his information about the allegations from the media, it is not reassuring either way.
This Prime Minister who wants to act tough, who jumps ahead of the Chinese president without even bothering to rally allies around him, could he tell us whether, when it comes to interference, trade, containment of China, he should make allies first instead of basing domestic policy on foreign policy gamesmanship?
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- Nov/29/22 2:29:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has been working with its allies for years on countering foreign interference, including Chinese interference, in our cybersecurity systems, in our media, toward our population.
We are working very closely with our allies in the United States, in England and elsewhere to counter that influence, and we will continue to work with our allies to stand up for the values and principles all Canadians hold dear.
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- Nov/29/22 2:30:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Conservative premiers are trying to privatize health care across the country. Doug Ford is setting up a for-pay virtual pediatric hospital, so parents have to pay for access to care. Danielle Smith is telling people that they have to fundraise to pay for their own operations.
When will the Prime Minister get serious and stop the privatization going on across our country so people can get the care they need without having to pay for it?
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- Nov/29/22 2:31:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting because some days from the opposition we get “Why aren't you sending money to the premiers to solve the health care problems?” Other days we get, like this one, “Be careful; don't send money to the premiers because they are trying to privatize health care.”
Regardless of what the opposition members say, we are going to continue to do the work of making sure Canadians get reliable results and outcomes from their health care systems across the country. That means standing up for the Canada Health Act, but also ensuring that any work we do with the provinces delivers concretely in line with the Canada Health Act.
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- Nov/29/22 2:31:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that means stopping the privatization that is happening across the country. That is the question.
The health care system is crumbling across the country, including in Quebec. The Montreal Children's Hospital is at 175% occupancy. This means that children are not getting the care they need.
Our children deserve better. When will the Prime Minister take action to save our health care system, both in Quebec and across the country?
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- Nov/29/22 2:32:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we were there with billions and billions of dollars. An additional $72 billion was invested in the past few years during the pandemic to help the provinces improve the health care system, and we will continue to be there with billions more to help them with the health care system.
However, we must ensure that this money is tied to improvements and that there are better services and better access to health care for Quebec and Canadian families. That is why we are working with the provinces. We want to deliver real results for children, for families and for everyone.
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- Nov/29/22 2:33:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I asked the Prime Minister some very specific questions today about whether he was informed of allegations that Beijing interfered in any of our elections, and he refused to answer, so I will give him a sixth try.
The question is not whether he knows of the candidate who received money. It is not whether there is a committee somewhere that said the election turned out as it should. The question is, was he, at any time prior to the recent media reports, informed by his officials of interference by Beijing in our elections, yes or no?
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