44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 21, 2023 10:00AM
- Mar/21/23 2:36:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister was frequently briefed about Beijing's election interference. In the face of that, this is what a CSIS whistle-blower wrote in The Globe and Mail: “Months passed, and then years. The threat grew in urgency; serious action remained unforthcoming.” That is an indictment of the record of the Prime Minister.
Beijing interfered in two elections under the Prime Minister's watch and he turned a blind eye to it. Why?
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- Mar/21/23 2:37:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. Since we have taken the reins of government, this government has been consistently proactive in taking foreign interference seriously by giving CSIS new threat-reduction measure powers and by ensuring we crack down on foreign funding, which could be used to meddle in our elections, through the introduction and passage of Bill C-76 and through the creation of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, which has all recognized parties doing important work together to protect our democratic institutions.
That is the record of this government. I am proud of it, and we will continue to ensure that we do everything possible to protect—
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- Mar/21/23 2:38:03 p.m.
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The hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton.
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- Mar/21/23 2:38:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no charges have been laid. No diplomats have been expelled. The Prime Minister kept Canadians in the dark, and it took a CSIS whistle-blower to make the public aware of Beijing's election interference. That is the record of the Prime Minister.
Either the Prime Minister was completely asleep at the switch or he allowed it to happen because it benefited the Liberal Party. Which is it?
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- Mar/21/23 2:38:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague should be careful not to make outrageous allegations that he knows very well have no basis in truth.
Our government, from the beginning, took the issue of foreign interference very seriously. We put in place a number of steps, including a National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, created by law, with access to all relevant documents and officials, to make assessments about this and other national security issues. Far from what my colleague is saying, we have taken this issue seriously from the very beginning and continue to do so.
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- Mar/21/23 2:39:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a whistle-blower put their career on the line. That person made a deliberate choice to reveal the truth about Beijing's interference in our election even if they wondered, and I quote, “Who will take care of my family if I go to prison?”
This is a national security official who is well aware of the consequences of their actions. All because the Prime Minister did nothing to prevent Beijing's interference in the last two elections.
If the national security situation is so critical that someone risks going to prison, why did the Prime Minister turn a blind eye for so long?
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- Mar/21/23 2:39:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that, on the contrary, the Prime Minister and our government took this important issue seriously from the beginning, by seeking to strengthen Canadian democratic institutions against interference from China and other countries. This is not a new phenomenon in Canada or elsewhere around the world.
The good news is that we have put in place measures to reinforce our democratic institutions and we will continue to do so, particularly through the work of the Right Hon. David Johnston. We will put in place all other necessary measures to go even further.
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- Mar/21/23 2:40:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, CSIS said that the Prime Minister was briefed several times on Beijing's interference in our elections.
I will again quote the whistle-blower: “Months passed, and then years. The threat grew in urgency; serious action remained unforthcoming. I endeavoured, alone and with others, to raise concerns about this threat directly to those in a position to hold our top officials to account. Regrettably, those individuals were unable to do so”.
Why did the Prime Minister ignore these warnings?
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- Mar/21/23 2:41:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that we did not ignore these warnings. The former Conservative government ignored them when it was in power. We did the opposite. We put in place a suite of measures to strengthen our democratic institutions and to share intelligence vital to national security with parliamentarians.
We have a panel of independent experts chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council that certified that the 2019 and 2021 elections were free and democratic. The good news is that we will continue to strengthen these measures.
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- Mar/21/23 2:41:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the debate over Chinese interference in our democracy demonstrates the Prime Minister's systematic and long-standing lack of ethics.
He floated the threat of a confidence vote to keep his chief of staff, Katie Telford, from having to appear. In other words, he actually threatened to force an election, all to avoid telling the truth about information he has had for a very long time about Chinese interference.
What is it that the Prime Minister wants to keep Ms. Telford from admitting to, so much so that he would consider bringing down his own government?
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- Mar/21/23 2:42:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is just not true.
It is our goal to make sure that all the witnesses needed to answer questions are available. Many ministers have already gone to committee. Several people will be appearing before the committee as well.
We will make sure that someone is there to answer all the questions asked.
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- Mar/21/23 2:43:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, knowing that China interfered significantly in the last two elections, the Prime Minister has threatened to trigger another election with a confidence vote.
Before the details of China's interference tactics could even be investigated, before the electoral system could even be strengthened to counteract these illegal practices, the Prime Minister threatened to trigger another election, even if it means that Beijing can resort to the same strategy a third time in a row, scoring a hat trick.
When will we finally get an independent public commission of inquiry?
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- Mar/21/23 2:43:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague does not get too hung up on the truth. Making up facts does not seem to bother him all that much.
The Prime Minister has been very clear. This will not be a confidence vote. He said so this morning, as reported by all the papers. It is clear.
If the Bloc Québécois is just trying to pick a fight, stir the pot and impede our work here, it could at least stick to the facts instead of making things up all the time.
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- Mar/21/23 2:44:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are playing games by threatening an election. Meanwhile, in the real world, there are real people in the Chinese community who are facing real threats from the Chinese regime.
As for the notorious Chinese police stations, Safeguard Defenders confirmed yesterday that 83 Canadian citizens have already been detained and deported to China to face trial, and those are only the cases we know about.
Beijing is literally arresting Canadian citizens in Canada under the Prime Minister's nose. This is serious.
When will he finally launch a real independent public inquiry?
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- Mar/21/23 2:44:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will always make certain that our position on China clear, and it is clear. We will never tolerate any form of interference in Canada's democracy or domestic affairs.
I think it is important for all my colleagues to understand that we are always going to make a distinction between the Chinese government and the Chinese people themselves.
Unfortunately, Chinese Canadians in this country are too often the target of these actions. I call on all members of the House to support Chinese Canadians in every riding across the country.
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- Mar/21/23 2:45:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his loyal Liberal caucus keep trying to distract, divide and cover up their failure to protect Canadians from foreign interference. Canadians deserve to know the truth about Beijing's interference in our elections. We need to learn exactly what the Prime Minister knew and what was done to defend our democracy.
Will the Prime Minister finally identify all 11 federal candidates who received funding from Beijing, yes or no?
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- Mar/21/23 2:46:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can assure my colleague and all members in this chamber that we take foreign interference very seriously, which is why we have put in the people, the authorities, the resources and the technology to protect all of our institutions, including most especially our elections. It is why last week we appointed Mr. Johnston, a former governor general appointed by Stephen Harper no less. He is unimpeachable and has the ability to put forward concrete recommendations, including and up to a public inquiry, which, if he does, this government will respect, because we take the work of protecting our democratic institutions very seriously, and we are committed to continuing to do that.
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- Mar/21/23 2:46:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not the truth Canadians expect.
Just recently, Global News revealed that two high-level national security reports before and after the 2019 election suggest the Prime Minister's Office was warned about Chinese government officials and the direct funding they were giving to Liberal candidates. However, the Prime Minister continues to express that this information was never shared with him directly.
The question now is simple: Who in the Prime Minister's Office deliberately and intentionally withheld the information from him, and will he be terminating that person, yes or no?
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- Mar/21/23 2:47:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a government that believes in taking foreign interference with the utmost seriousness, which is why we have raised the bar when it comes to being transparent in how we are doing that work, through the creation of NSICOP, through the creation of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and now with Mr. Johnston's appointment as the special rapporteur. He will put forward the next best practical steps so that we can continue to reinforce our democratic institutions, including our elections.
This is not a partisan issue. It is one that all members should unite behind, and I hope that will include the Conservatives as well.
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- Mar/21/23 2:48:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we see this over and over again: skirt, deflect; skirt, deflect; skirt, deflect. At the end of the day, I find this all very perplexing. We know there have been reports given by CSIS to the Prime Minister's Office. Somehow those reports did not make it to the Prime Minister's ears. At least that is what he tells us.
My question for the Prime Minister is this: Was he not even just a little curious as to who the individuals were who withheld that information from him? Would he not want to know, or did he already know and simply did not need to ask?
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