SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 165

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 7, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 165 - Mar/7/23
Mr. René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, BQ)
  • Mar/7/23 12:41:38 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-27 
Madam Speaker, I just want to put a question to my hon. colleague from Calgary Rocky Ridge, with whom I worked on the ethics committee and who is knowledgeable about situations concerning access to information. It is a question that the people of Trois‑Rivières asked me when I was out in the community. With the arrival of ChatGPT, is it not true that a large part of this bill will have to be rewritten because it has become obsolete due to this important change in the reality of access to information?
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Context: House Hansard - 165 - Mar/7/23
Mr. René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, BQ)
  • Mar/7/23 2:47:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, foreign interference in our elections demands a transparent investigation. Let me say a little bit about what the Prime Minister's definition of transparency is. Transparency for him means turning the investigation over to a national security committee, a committee whose members will not only be bound to secrecy, but to secrecy in perpetuity, a committee that will hold its meetings behind closed doors and whose proceedings neither the public nor parliamentarians will be allowed to follow, a committee that will not be able to say which witnesses it will meet or report their exact words, a committee whose report will inevitably be redacted. Where is the transparency in that?
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Context: House Hansard - 165 - Mar/7/23
Mr. René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, BQ)
  • Mar/7/23 2:48:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that gave me goosebumps. We need an inquiry into foreign interference in our elections that is both transparent and independent. Instead, the Prime Minister is appointing a special rapporteur who is supposedly independent, even though this person will be appointed by him. Then, this special rapporteur, appointed by the Prime Minister, will decide what the inquiry will and will not cover. This special rapporteur, appointed by the Prime Minister, will be the one to decide whether the Prime Minister should do more to counter foreign interference. This rapporteur may well be special, but are we really supposed to believe they will be independent?
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Context: House Hansard - 165 - Mar/7/23
Mr. René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, BQ)
  • Mar/7/23 2:49:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am getting even more goosebumps. Foreign interference in our elections requires a transparent, independent and public inquiry. We know it will not be transparent because it will be led by a committee that is legally bound to secrecy. It simply is not entitled to be transparent. We also know that the inquiry will not be independent either, because the Prime Minister will personally select his rapporteur. Given that we know that the inquiry will not be transparent or independent, it will obviously not be public. What is the Prime Minister trying to hide from the public?
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