44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 10, 2023 10:00AM
- Mar/10/23 11:22:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we take allegations of foreign interference or intimidation in Canada very seriously. That is why the RCMP is investigating. We use all tools at our disposal to address interference and protect Canadians, including investigations and charges by law enforcement, diplomatic levers such as withholding visas, and examining new tools such as a foreign influence transparency registry. Everyone should feel safe in this country, and we will exhaust all efforts to protect them from unacceptable behaviour by hostile authoritarian states.
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- Mar/10/23 11:23:05 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, clearly, nothing the government did worked. Foreign interference is more widespread in Canada than ever. Now they are talking about a foreign agent registry. This morning, the minister announced he would be holding consultations to decide how to proceed. He said the same thing three months ago.
The U.S. has actually had a foreign agent registry since 1938. Australia set one up in 2018. Moreover, senior Privy Council officials recommended setting up a foreign agent registry last year.
Why is the Minister of Public Safety now talking about holding more consultations?
Who is he going to consult, his friends in China?
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- Mar/10/23 11:23:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was pleased to be there today when the Minister of Public Safety announced that we would launch consultations on the creation of a Canadian foreign influence transparency registry. This is only one of the tools we are using to combat foreign interference, which is meant to create chaos in this country, but we want to make sure we get it right. We will be consulting with Canadians from across the country. The consultation will close on May 9, and I encourage Canadians to take part.
When it comes to hostile states, we will always move with our eyes wide open.
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- Mar/10/23 11:24:25 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the federal government has just announced $82 million in cuts to health care, half of which will affect Quebec. We are losing out on $41 million because of the minister, and that money was earmarked for our health care system. Has the minister been to a hospital lately? Has he turned on his television or read a newspaper?
Health care centres everywhere are in crisis. It is extremely hard to give people the treatment they need and deserve. Is there anyone in the House who is heartless enough to think that this is the right time to cut health transfers?
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- Mar/10/23 11:24:57 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for giving me an opportunity to talk about this issue.
Health care in Canada is top of mind for every health minister in the country, including me. We have different roles to play, but we have the same responsibility to serve the same people with the same funding. That is why, in Canada, no matter where we live, we must have access to health care based on our medical condition rather than our wallet.
That is why in Quebec, and everywhere else in the country, we will continue to work together to ensure that this remains the case for the coming years.
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- Mar/10/23 11:25:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the minister was really pushing it when he told the media that this was an opportunity, that this was good news for Quebeckers. I think we can all agree that no one here is in favour of any type of billing, but we need to remember that Quebec needed $6 billion in new investments just to begin repairing our health care system. The federal government gave Quebec just $1 billion, one-sixth of what it needed, and now it is announcing an additional $41 million in cuts.
I repeat: Who in the House is heartless enough to think that making cuts to health care right now is good news?
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- Mar/10/23 11:26:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are all pleased to hear that my colleague agrees that extra billing is not part of the health care system in our country, including Quebec. The good news is that Quebeckers and the Government of Quebec can be quickly reimbursed for these deductions if Quebec, like the other provinces, continues to ensure that people are being provided with treatment based on their medical condition, not their ability to pay.
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- Mar/10/23 11:26:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Joe Biden has just announced that he will eliminate $31 billion in subsidies and special tax treatments for the big polluters, yet Canada continues to give out billions of dollars every year to profitable oil and gas companies. Big oil is watching this coming budget for more giveaways, handouts and subsidies for things such as carbon capture. These companies are making record profits. They are giving out huge payouts to shareholders and massive bonuses to their CEOs while gouging Canadians at the pumps.
Why will the Liberals not just show some courage and commit in the upcoming budget to eliminating the billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil?
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- Mar/10/23 11:27:21 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that we need to go further and faster on emissions reductions. That is why we are capping emissions from the oil and gas sector, implementing a clean fuel standard, and investing in carbon capture and storage. We will be exporting that technology around the world, and we are also phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. We have phased out eight, and we are on our way to phasing out the rest by the end of the year.
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- Mar/10/23 11:27:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada and the BC Humanist Association found that the majority of crisis pregnancy centres post harmful misinformation. These centres present themselves as medical clinics, but feature false information about abortion, contraception and sexual activity. The Liberals promised to revoke charitable status from anti-choice organizations, and two years later, they have still not done it.
Today, on Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, will the minister finally remove the charitable status from organizations that mislead and shame women?
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- Mar/10/23 11:28:33 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think access to safe and accessible abortion services across Canada is not only a right but also a priority for this government. That is why we have been working with provinces and territories to make sure that this is true across Canada, including in provinces where access is more problematic and where fees are sometimes imposed, to ensure safe and accessible abortion services in this country.
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- Mar/10/23 11:29:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have seen the reports in Global News and The Globe and Mail about the coordinated campaign by the Communist dictatorship in Beijing to influence our elections. It is doing that with money and resources to try to get preferred outcomes for parties and candidates sympathetic to it.
We know that our security services briefed the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Katie Telford. Now the procedure and House affairs committee has been filibustered for three days as part of the Liberal cover-up to prevent her from coming.
Will the Prime Minister announce today that he will allow his chief of staff to testify and tell Canadians what she knew?
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- Mar/10/23 11:29:49 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad that the member opposite raised the issues that are happening at the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. PROC is doing incredible work to try to do the work of Canadians.
Members opposite can laugh. It is no surprise that when we actually had ministers there, again, to answer questions for Canadians, all the Conservatives could do was make misogynistic cracks and take digs at them, suggesting that a female minister could not possibly do their job in dealing with foreign interference.
At PROC, we are focused on doing the hard work and asking the questions of Canadians while they continue to spread their misogyny—
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- Mar/10/23 11:30:25 a.m.
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The hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.
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- Mar/10/23 11:30:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are looking for answers for Canadians, and the Liberals are engaged in a multi-day cover-up filibuster. Our ask is very simple.
The most senior person working for the Prime Minister, his chief of staff, Katie Telford, was briefed by CSIS on the interference attempts by the Communist regime in Beijing to interfere and to change the outcomes of our elections.
We want the Prime Minister's chief of staff to testify at committee, and we want to know when she is going to testify.
Otherwise, we need to know: What are they trying to hide?
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- Mar/10/23 11:31:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a bit rich coming from the Conservatives. We have heard time and time again that the issue of foreign interference is not new.
In fact, it was raised when the Leader of the Opposition was the minister responsible. He actually said that they were not going to do anything in regard to dealing with foreign interference because he felt that it was not in their partisan interest. Meanwhile, we continue to bring public servants, ministers and members of our national security community to the committee because we want to ensure that we are strengthening our democratic institutions while Conservatives play—
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- Mar/10/23 11:31:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, they are stalling for time. Intelligence agencies briefed the Prime Minister's staff about direct election interference.
They know information that the parliamentary committee needs to do its work. They are offering word salad, an alphabet soup of agencies and organizations to hide behind.
Will they stop blocking the work of Parliament and get the chief of staff to testify immediately?
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- Mar/10/23 11:32:12 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on the contrary, we continue to do the work of Parliament by adding meetings to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs so that we can continue to have as many meetings as possible.
We are working even when we are on constituency weeks because we find this issue so important. Our members are willing to be there to bring ministers back again. We brought public servants and the national security community back. We want to ensure that Canadians get the answers.
Conservatives continue to play partisan games. We are not going to let that get in the way of the very real work that we have to do to strengthen our institutions.
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- Mar/10/23 11:32:52 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, they are stalling for time. They are not allowing the committee to get to a vote to call the Prime Minister's chief of staff to testify. They are announcing a special rapporteur to take even more time to give us the one thing we need, which is a national public inquiry.
They are now directing to NSICOP, where they will hear secret hearings, evidence and conclusions. Moreover, every single MP on that committee can be vetoed by the Prime Minister.
It is very simple. They are stalling for time. Only a national public inquiry will stop it.
Will they call one?
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- Mar/10/23 11:33:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will remind the House that Canadians and Canadians alone determined the outcomes of the 2019 and the 2021 elections. We will use every tool available to us, unlike the Harper Conservative government, which did nothing to create an oversight committee of parliamentarians. It was one of our first acts as government.
NSICOP is a committee of parliamentarians that provides oversight. The U.K. has had one since 1994. We were late to the game, but we did it when we formed government, unlike the opposition.
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