44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 29, 2022 10:00AM
- 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 2:23:45 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 2:27:12 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 2:33:01 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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- Nov/29/22 2:33:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my Conservative colleagues can be assured that Canadians know the elections in 2019 and 2021 were free and fair. We know that because we had two independent panels that looked at allegations of foreign interference and confirmed as much. More importantly, we are putting in place the tools necessary to protect all of our democratic institutions so that Canadians can have their voices reflected and heard in this chamber.
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- Nov/29/22 2:34:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the RCMP wrote a letter to a parliamentary committee confirming that it is investigating foreign interference. It said in particular that this interference includes in “democratic processes”. The Constitution defines democratic rights as voting, which is about elections. The RCMP put that in writing. CSIS officials testified that there was foreign interference that included in “elections and ridings”.
Would CSIS and the RCMP have made these comments publicly without informing the Prime Minister first?
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- Nov/29/22 2:34:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has said very clearly, and as my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety, has repeated, our government put in place an independent process of experts chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council, something the previous Conservative government had not thought important enough to do. That group of experts chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council, which included the heads of our security and intelligence agencies, was given the important responsibility of ensuring that Canadian elections were free and democratic. The good news, which I know will not impress the Leader of the Opposition, is that it confirmed both elections were exactly that.
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- Nov/29/22 2:36:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's concern, and that is why we had two independent panels look at, with great forensic detail, allegations of foreign interference. This review was carried out by non-partisan professional public servants so that we could all be sure our elections were free and fair, and that is precisely what they confirmed. Now our government continues to be vigilant against all forms of foreign interference by giving law enforcement and national security partners the tools they need to do so.
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- Nov/29/22 2:36:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has the tools he needs to stand up and answer the question. He would know if his officials, the police or intelligence bodies briefed him on any foreign interference in elections. That is the specific question I have now asked seven times. At first, the Prime Minister refused to give a proper answer, and now he is refusing to even take to his feet and face the question.
I will ask one last time. Was he ever briefed on interference by foreign actors in our elections, yes or no?
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- Nov/29/22 2:45:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague has heard on many occasions now, we had independent panels look at allegations of foreign interference. He can also be assured, as all members can, that the RCMP and CSIS have their eyes wide open when it comes to potential threats of foreign interference.
We are giving the community all the tools and resources it needs so we can protect all of our institutions, including for elections. That is something all members should share as a common objective.
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- Nov/29/22 2:46:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is an experienced member of the House and he sat in cabinet. He would know that ministers do not answer questions on details of specific police investigations in the House of Commons. What governments do is put in place the appropriate processes to ensure that our democratic institutions are protected from foreign interference, a concern that all members of the House share.
As my colleagues have pointed out, we took steps that previous Conservative governments did not think they should take to put in place the appropriate mechanisms to ensure the integrity of our elections, and that is exactly what we did.
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- Nov/29/22 2:47:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague and all members of this chamber can be assured of the integrity of the 2019 and 2021 elections, because we had independent panels that looked with great detail and great attention at documents, interviewed witnesses and confirmed the result. More importantly, we will continue to give all tools necessary to our independent police community and independent national security community so they can protect all democratic institutions, and Canadians can have their voices reflected in our governments.
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- Nov/29/22 2:48:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in response to a request from the parliamentary committee looking into foreign interference in our election, the RCMP refused to provide documents in its possession because they could compromise ongoing investigations.
CSIS has been a bit more forthcoming. I have here a top secret document entitled “Briefing for the Prime Minister on Foreign Interference”. There are just two people who deny that there has been foreign influence in our elections: the Prime Minister and the spokesperson for the Chinese government. No one believes either of them.
When will the Prime Minister finally tell the whole truth?
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