SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 188

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 1, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 188 - May/1/23
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)
  • May/1/23 2:26:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our former governor general David Johnston is responsible for determining whether a public inquiry is needed and what the terms will be for a potential inquiry. We turned to an independent expert to determine how to assure Canadians that everything is being done to combat interference and that we will restore confidence in our institutions and the integrity of our democracy.
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Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP)
  • May/1/23 2:27:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, disturbing new information from CSIS reveals that China views Canada as a high-priority target and employs incentive and punishment tactics targeted at elected members of this House as well as Chinese Canadians. This interference threatens the safety of members of Parliament, Chinese Canadians and their families in China. Enough is enough. When will the Liberals finally launch an independent public inquiry on foreign interference in Canada?
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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)
  • May/1/23 2:28:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have had various mechanisms and programs in place for several years to counter foreign interference and to ensure that we are doing everything we can against Chinese interference. We will continue to use the tools we have, while also seeking out additional tools. We know that Canadians take this issue seriously, and I want to assure them that our government also takes it very seriously.
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Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)
  • May/1/23 2:28:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that clearly shows that this Prime Minister does not understand how much this is damaging our democracy. Media reports came out today confirming that Canada is a high-priority country for foreign interference from the Chinese government. MPs, their families and even their staff are being targets of incentives and punishments. Canadians deserve transparency, and the government has refused, every step of the way, to call a fully public inquiry. Why does the government fail to bring forward the one thing that will restore trust in our democracy?
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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)
  • May/1/23 2:29:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from the broad range of experts who have looked into this, there are multiple opinions on whether an open public inquiry is actually the best tool to restore confidence in Canadians. That is why we tasked an independent expert and our former governor general, David Johnston, to look at all the tools we have to counter foreign interference, to look at the concerns Canadians have and to choose the best path forward. If he chooses a public inquiry, we will absolutely move forward with a public inquiry. We will take up the right tools necessary to restore Canadians' confidence.
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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)
  • May/1/23 2:29:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has to answer these questions. He has known now for two years that the family of a member of Parliament was harassed and threatened with other penalties because of how he voted on human rights in the House of Commons. For two years, the Prime Minister did nothing to protect the family or to punish the Canadian-based Beijing diplomat who orchestrated the entire attack against that family. Could the Prime Minister confirm whether the responsible diplomat from Beijing will be expelled by the end of the business day today?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/1/23 2:30:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to assure every member in this chamber that we take— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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The Speaker
  • May/1/23 2:30:44 p.m.
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The hon. Minister of Public Safety has the floor.
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Hon. Marco Mendicino
  • May/1/23 2:30:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I assure every member in this chamber that we take the reports that have surfaced recently very seriously. In fact, I reached out directly to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills to share my concerns. I told him that I have instructed CSIS to provide him with an update. This government will continue to take concrete actions to combat foreign interference, including allocating $49 million in budget 2023 to protect all Canadians from foreign interference. This is not a partisan issue. We should do this work together to protect all parliamentarians.
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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)
  • May/1/23 2:31:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is time for the Prime Minister to stand up and do his job. Stand up for once— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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The Speaker
  • May/1/23 2:31:51 p.m.
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Order, please. I want to remind hon. members to speak through the Speaker and not directly to each other. The hon. Leader of the Opposition has the floor.
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Hon. Pierre Poilievre
  • May/1/23 2:32:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, will the Prime Minister finally stand up for this country and its people against a foreign dictatorship that has been interfering in our land for far too long, yes or no?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/1/23 2:32:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the heckles of the Conservatives on the other side of the aisle, the Prime Minister and our government have been standing up doing the relentless, tireless work of defending— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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The Speaker
  • May/1/23 2:32:34 p.m.
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Order, please. This is not a good start to a Monday, and it started off fairly well. An hon. member: It's a terrible start. The Speaker: When people start heckling the Speaker, there is a problem. Are we going to play nice, or do we start getting tough? I will let the hon. Minister of Public Safety start again, and I want to remind hon. members how we are going to scramble things or maybe eliminate a few questions as well. The hon. minister has the floor.
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Hon. Marco Mendicino
  • May/1/23 2:33:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this government has been doing the concrete, tireless work that is necessary to combat foreign interference and to protect our democratic institutions by creating new powers and adding more resources for all the security and intelligence agencies that are there to protect our communities, our institutions and, most importantly, Canadians. I encourage the Conservative politicians on the other side of the aisle to get behind what is a non-partisan cause and protect Canadians.
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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)
  • May/1/23 2:33:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at least I got a direct answer. I asked if he would stand up and, of course, he did not stand up. It is very clear that the Prime Minister knew for two years that Beijing thought Canada was uniquely vulnerable to its bullying and interference because we do not have anti-foreign interference laws, unlike the Australians and Americans. For two years after his intelligence bodies warned him of that, he did absolutely nothing. Will he stand up and do his job now?
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Hon. Chrystia Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)
  • May/1/23 2:34:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at a pretty young age, I personally learned what it is like to be targeted by an authoritarian communist regime. As a Ukrainian Canadian, I have always known that authoritarian communist regimes particularly target diaspora communities here in Canada. That is wrong. Do members know what makes it easier to target Canada and Canadian democracy? It is when we are divided.
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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)
  • May/1/23 2:35:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has to stop hiding behind his ministers. The vacation is over. He has work to do. He wants to talk about taking partisanship out of it. One non-partisan thing to do would have been to recognize that a Conservative MP, or any MP for any party, had his family threatened because of a vote cast on this floor. It would have been to take immediate action against the diplomats who made those threats. That would have been the non-partisan thing to do. Why did he not do it?
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Hon. Robert Oliphant (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.)
  • May/1/23 2:35:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment, and this is uncharacteristic of me, to express my outrage at what has happened to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. It could be any of us in this House who was targeted for actions we have taken. It is an outrage, and we should all express that collectively. The Prime Minister will continue to work for Canadians and for Canadian democracy. We will continue to stand together and make sure that foreign interference will never be tolerated. If a diplomat has broken the Vienna Convention, he or she will be expelled.
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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)
  • May/1/23 2:36:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is running out of ministers to hide behind. While he sits there and smirks, we have a country that is under foreign influence by a dictatorship that has actually opened police stations in this country. According to a report put out just today, there are two police stations run by Beijing operating in Montreal as we speak. Will the Prime Minister stand up now and tell us how he will close down these police stations?
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