44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 7, 2023 10:00AM
- Mar/7/23 2:30:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister really were interested in protecting national security, he would not be hiding. He would stand up right now and answer the question. Instead, he hides behind those two stooges who protect him—
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- Mar/7/23 2:31:13 p.m.
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Order. I want to remind hon. members of two things: one, please use parliamentary language and be judicious; and two, we cannot do indirectly what we cannot do directly in the House.
The hon. Leader of the Opposition, from the top, and I am sure he will use both principles in his questions.
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- Mar/7/23 2:31:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was hiding yesterday from the House. He is hiding today from the House. He has been hiding for the last 10 years—
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- Mar/7/23 2:31:52 p.m.
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Once again, I want to remind hon. members that we cannot do indirectly what we cannot do directly. I do not want to have to move to the next question.
The hon. member can start from the beginning, and I am sure he will use parliamentary judgment.
The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
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- Mar/7/23 2:32:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been hiding this for the last 10 years. Ten years ago, he found out that the Trudeau Foundation got $200,000. Over the last five years, he has had briefing after briefing, warning of interference by Beijing in our elections to support him. Now he is hiding the truth behind a secret committee that will not provide public information.
Whatever he is hiding, it must be bad. It must be really bad. How bad?
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- Mar/7/23 2:32:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member across, the leader of the official opposition, would know well where the Prime Minister is today. He is meeting with the president of the European Commission to talk about national security issues—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Mar/7/23 2:33:02 p.m.
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Order. I want to remind hon. members that one thing they cannot do is refer to either the presence or the absence of someone in the chamber.
I will let the hon. government House leader take it from the top, and I am sure he will be judicious in his words.
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- Mar/7/23 2:33:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course that question was asked, despite you saying that it was unparliamentary several times. I want to put that as a matter of record.
Let me say this and be very clear. One of the things that we had as a long tradition in our country was to make sure that when we were dealing with national security, we did not use national security as a way to play partisan politics and to grind an axe on one other.
The reality is that this issue of foreign interference has been a serious issue since well before this government. It was a matter that the member across was responsible for as a minister. They did not take action. We have—
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- Mar/7/23 2:34:24 p.m.
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The hon. member for La Prairie.
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- Mar/7/23 2:34:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at his news conference on Chinese interference yesterday, the Prime Minister once again made it clear that he just does not get it.
People want a public inquiry. He announced a secret committee. Secret is not public; it is secret. We wanted an independent inquiry.
The Prime Minister is going to appoint a special rapporteur himself. This person will report to him and submit their report to him. That is not independent in the least.
Why is the PM refusing to set up an independent public commission of inquiry?
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- Mar/7/23 2:35:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was very clear yesterday.
Since taking office, we have implemented robust, concrete measures to counter foreign interference in our elections. We also asked a special rapporteur to go over all these issues and, transparently, give the government recommendations for next steps. We will keep doing what needs to be done to reassure Canadians that our elections are free and democratic and that all members of Parliament were 100% elected by Canadians.
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- Mar/7/23 2:35:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the Liberals do not understand is that this is not about opposing the government.
This is not about one party against another. It is about public trust in the electoral system. It is about ensuring a level playing field from the start. If we cannot address the issue of the integrity of our elections in a transparent manner, frankly, we are in trouble. We will start to look like a banana republic, with all due respect to bananas.
When will the Prime Minister create an independent public commission?
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- Mar/7/23 2:36:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we share precisely that concern with my hon. colleague opposite.
To reassure Canadians, as we have been doing since we first formed government, our intelligence agencies and Canadian institutions are resilient, and we have introduced measures to counter interference in the Canadian electoral system.
Since we formed the government, we have further strengthened these measures. That is also exactly what the Prime Minister announced yesterday evening.
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- Mar/7/23 2:37:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the allegations of foreign interference are disturbing and serious. That is why, at committee, we asked for a public inquiry. We asked for a process that is independent and public.
Why is the Prime Minister ignoring these two criteria?
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- Mar/7/23 2:37:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the question from the NDP leader.
We share his concerns, as should all members of the House of Commons, about the importance of strengthening our democratic institutions. That is exactly what we have done since coming to power.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced other additional measures to increase this protection. We understand that we need to be transparent and open with Canadians. That is exactly what we will continue to do.
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- Mar/7/23 2:38:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister really wanted to restore the confidence of Canadians, he would call a public inquiry.
Here is the situation. We have a Conservative Party that only cares about playing political games with something so serious as our democracy. New Democrats understand that this is serious and it is not an opportunity to play political games. That is why we demanded a public inquiry at committee. There are two criteria we have: The process has to be independent and it has to be public.
Will the government confirm that its process will answer questions about what the Prime Minister knew, when he knew it and what he did about it?
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- Mar/7/23 2:38:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague values transparency. So does this government. That is why yesterday, when we announced the imminent appointment of a special rapporteur, we said that we would abide by and respect any recommendation that that individual would put forward, including and up to a public inquiry.
Equally, I would remind all members of this chamber that we also announced that we would commence consultations on a foreign agent registry as well as the launch of a coordinator to fight against foreign interference. I sincerely hope this is something that all members of this chamber are united on.
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- Mar/7/23 2:39:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals and the NDP are now openly working together to cover up the truth. Yesterday, the Prime Minister kicked the can down the road by announcing that a hand-picked rapporteur is going to look into maybe looking into the interference. He announced that a secret committee with secret hearings will hear secret evidence and then give the Prime Minister a secret conclusion.
When will he call a public inquiry and tell everybody what he is hiding?
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- Mar/7/23 2:39:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, members heard the government announce yesterday that it is our intention to appoint a special rapporteur who presents the qualifications, the experience and the knowledge to navigate and survey the options on the best next practical steps that we can take to protect our democratic institutions, including our elections.
Is this truly what the Conservatives have resorted to now, denigrating the very institutions that are there to protect our democracy? Is that all they have to offer, denigration? I sincerely hope not.
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- Mar/7/23 2:40:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it sounds desperate. It is a special rapporteur. I get it. The Liberals are blocking a public inquiry, and the NDP is blocking a parliamentary inquiry. As a result, Canadians get a secret committee to look into interference by a foreign dictatorship in our democracy. It is shameful work by the cover-up coalition.
Will they commit to a truly independent and actually public inquiry to look into what the Prime Minister is hiding?
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