44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 6, 2023 11:00AM
- Mar/6/23 2:28:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the revelations about Chinese interference reported in The Globe and Mail are cause for concern.
Whether the outcome of the last election would have been the same is not the issue. Any time the integrity of the democratic process is threatened, it is the responsibility of all of us in the House to defend that process. Public trust in our democratic system is at stake here. This goes far beyond partisan politics.
Will the Prime Minister create an independent commission of public inquiry on foreign interference in our elections?
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- Mar/6/23 2:28:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that this should be a non-partisan issue, because we all have an interest in protecting and strengthening our democratic institutions.
Our government has introduced a series of robust measures that were assessed by independent experts following the last two federal elections. The good news is that we are always looking for additional measures that we can bring in with the support, I hope, of all parliamentarians in order to strengthen our democratic system.
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- Mar/6/23 2:29:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the experts. Jean-Pierre Kingsley, the former chief electoral officer, Gerald Butts, a former advisor to the Prime Minister, and even Morris Rosenberg, all agree that there needs to be a public inquiry on the integrity of our elections.
We can look all we want, but it seems that no one is opposed to shedding light on any threat to the functioning of our democratic system. There must be no doubts about the legitimacy of the presence of a member in the House. That is something we definitely do not want.
When will the government establish a public and independent inquiry on foreign interference in elections?
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- Mar/6/23 2:30:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe that our government has been very transparent about our efforts to counter foreign interference in our elections and our democratic system.
We look forward to working with all parliamentarians in the House of Commons and the Senate. That is exactly why we created, for example, a parliamentary committee to study these and other issues and to report to Canadians. We created intelligence review agencies to effectively ensure that our democratic institutions are protected, and we continue to look for other solutions at the same time.
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- Mar/6/23 2:30:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are very troubled about the allegations of foreign interference in our elections, but the Prime Minister does not seem concerned at all.
The former head of CSIS, the former head of Elections Canada and even Morris Rosenberg, who wrote the 2021 federal election report, are all encouraging the Prime Minister to go forward with a national public inquiry on foreign interference. PROC of the House of Commons has even adopted an NDP motion that the House may vote on soon, calling for a public inquiry as well.
Therefore, why is the Prime Minister so opposed? Why is he refusing to get answers for Canadians?
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- Mar/6/23 2:31:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government is taking the issue of foreign interference in Canada's democratic institutions very seriously. As my colleague heard, our government has taken unprecedented steps since we formed the government in 2015 to put in place a series of measures precisely to provide greater transparency and understanding to Canadians on a threat that has existed for well more than 13 years, which has been publicly discussed for over a decade.
The good news is that our government takes it seriously. The good news is that the 2019 and 2021 elections were decided freely and fairly by Canadians.
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- Mar/6/23 2:32:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in a democratic society, few things are as crucial as the integrity of the electoral process and confidence in institutions.
There are serious allegations of interference, and it is this Prime Minister's responsibility to launch a public inquiry to get to the bottom of it. People deserve transparency. The former head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS, along with a former chief electoral officer, former senior public servant Morris Rosenberg, and an NDP-led House of Commons committee are calling for a public inquiry.
Why is the Prime Minister saying no?
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- Mar/6/23 2:32:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague. It is important that Canadians have confidence in our democratic institutions.
We have taken the issue of foreign interference seriously since the moment we formed government. We have implemented a series of measures, including legislative measures, to ensure that our democratic institutions are protected from unacceptable interference.
As my hon. colleague well knows, we share his concern. The good news is that we will continue to do what is necessary.
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- Mar/6/23 2:33:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we found out that CSIS uncovered a plan to influence the Prime Minister with a $200,000 donation to the Trudeau Foundation from agents of the communist regime in Beijing. The response was to blame CSIS. That is another page out of the playbook of divide, distract, deflect and deny, while the confidence in our democracy hits an all-time low.
The Prime Minister needs to end the cover-up and come clean with Canadians about what he knew and when he knew about it. The Prime Minister refuses. What is he hiding?
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- Mar/6/23 2:34:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, has said, we take the threat of foreign interference very seriously, which is why we have taken concrete action, like putting in place threat reduction measures for CSIS and cracking down on foreign funding which could interfere with our domestic elections.
With corresponding transparency through the creation of bodies like the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians to ensure that we are up front with Canadians, all members should be united in protecting our elections. They are sacrosanct. Canadians, and Canadians alone, determine them.
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- Mar/6/23 2:34:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the allegations of foreign interference are serious and they deserve a serious response from a serious Prime Minister. They need to be investigated and they need to be investigated by a credible, non-partisan and independent body. They need to be investigated by Parliament, not by Liberal insiders.
With the help of the NDP, the Prime Minister is refusing to send his chief of staff to committee. Again, what is he hiding?
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- Mar/6/23 2:35:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was this government under the leadership of the Prime Minister that created the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians to encourage and foster collaboration across partisan lines, because this is an issue that transcends that dynamic. We will continue to shine a light on the threats that are posed by foreign interference so we can protect our democratic institutions, especially elections, because Canadians, and Canadians alone, must be reassured that they determine their elections and no one else.
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- Mar/6/23 2:35:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for years, CSIS has tracked Beijing's foreign interference and has said, “foreign interference is a serious threat to the security of Canada.” For years, CSIS has advised the Prime Minister that “Canada can make use of a policy that is grounded in transparency and sunlight in order to highlight the point that foreign interference should be exposed to the public.”
Will the Prime Minister heed this advice, be transparent and let PMO officials testify before a parliamentary committee?
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- Mar/6/23 2:36:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's question and I also embrace his concerns around transparency. This is a government that has raised the bar of transparency through the creation of NSICOP and through the creation of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, which both have robust access to classified information so we can be up front with Canadians in the ways in which we are protecting all of our institutions, especially elections.
As my colleague, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, said, we have good news. Two independent panels have concluded that both of the elections in 2019 and 2021 were free and fair. We will continue this work together.
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- Mar/6/23 2:37:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they concluded overall that they were free and fair.
Last election, the G7 rapid response mechanism in Global Affairs Canada tracked Chinese Communist Party interference targeting candidates like Kenny Chiu. Despite Global Affairs tracking interference in real time during the election, nothing was done. Kenny Chiu was not informed. Clearly, the critical election incident protocol did not work.
Since the PMO had a hand in setting up this protocol, will the PMO let its officials testify in front of a committee in order to tell us why the protocol was set up the way it was?
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- Mar/6/23 2:37:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, this government set up the SITE panel and the critical instant reporting protocol to ensure that independent, non-partisan, professional public servants would make decisions about which allegations of foreign interference would be disclosed. This is a process that has served our democracy well.
Now we will take the recommendations from Morris Rosenberg and work closely with the public service to implement them so we can build on the strong track record of this government, which remains vigilant and clear-eyed about fighting against the threats of foreign interference.
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- Mar/6/23 2:38:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister initially denied allegations of foreign interference in our elections by the communist regime in Beijing. He thought he could sweep the whole thing under the rug and people would move on, but that did not happen. Suddenly, all kinds of things were revealed in the papers, on Global News, in the Globe and Mail, and the revelations keep coming. Every day, we find out more about how the communist regime in Beijing interfered in our elections. While the PM looked the other way, the Trudeau Foundation returned $200,000 to a Chinese businessman.
Why is the Prime Minister refusing to launch a public inquiry into Beijing's interference in our elections?
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- Mar/6/23 2:39:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague clearly stated, our government took this matter seriously the moment we took office. My colleague across the way claims people looked the other way, but he knows that is not the case. As my colleague pointed out, there were threats over 10 years ago, and if his government had taken them seriously, it might have implemented robust measures like the ones we implemented specifically to counter this kind of unacceptable interference. We will keep doing what needs to be done to strengthen our institutions.
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- Mar/6/23 2:39:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if he wants to talk about the past, then let us talk about 2013. In front of a group of women gathered for a Liberal Party fundraiser, a person in the audience asked the Prime Minister what country he admired, other than Canada. He answered, and I quote: “There's a level of admiration I actually have for China. Their basic dictatorship is actually allowing them to turn their economy around on a dime.”
We will not take any lessons from the Liberal Party's past. The regime in Beijing employed a sophisticated strategy to disrupt the 2021 federal election through its diplomats and their proxies. That is what we learned from The Globe and Mail.
Why is he refusing to allow Katie Telford to testify before the committee?
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- Mar/6/23 2:40:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned 2013. I thought he was going to say that that was when CSIS identified the potential threat of Chinese interference in our election. Who was the minister responsible for the integrity of democratic institutions in 2013? It was the current Leader of the Opposition. He did nothing in 2013 or in 2014. He did not do anything in 2015 either.
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