44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
- May/2/23 2:39:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, it is absolutely outrageous that the Bloc Québécois would suggest that this government stood idly by on an issue such as this one, which affected a member of Parliament and his family.
This is why the government has created tools to give our communities certain national security responsibilities in order to defend everyone working in our institutions. We will remain vigilant on this issue.
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- May/2/23 2:40:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the meantime, CSIS is warning that Beijing sees Canada as a high-priority target for interference.
Obviously, it is easy for China. China could get close to the Prime Minister through the Trudeau Foundation. China could get close to the Liberals at their own $1,500-a-head cocktail parties during their first term. Then, when China gets caught by CSIS doing things like threatening the family of an elected member, the Liberals keep it a secret.
Do the Liberals realize that it is their fault that China is infiltrating our institutions with disturbing ease?
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- May/2/23 2:40:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I already explained, this government is truly proactive when it comes to dealing with the challenge of foreign interference.
That is why we gave more powers to CSIS. That is why we introduced Bill C‑76 to crack down on foreign contributions that could pose a threat to our institutions.
We will continue to do this important work to protect communities, institutions and, more importantly, all Canadians.
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- May/2/23 2:41:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, why are we still talking about this today? It is because the Liberals have chosen their culture of secrecy over full transparency.
It is their culture of secrecy that increases foreign interference: secrecy about China's connections through the Trudeau Foundation; secrecy about China interfering in democracy; secrecy about Chinese threats towards the family of an elected official.
From day one, the Prime Minister could have been transparent with an independent and public commission of inquiry. Will he go down with his secrets, taking the Liberal Party with him?
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- May/2/23 2:42:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that our government took foreign interference and threats seriously from the outset. We implemented several measures in the first few months of our mandate, and we strengthened them in the months and years that followed.
The good news is that the Right Hon. David Johnston is on the job and will make independent recommendations because he is an expert who knows the facts. The government will take action to further enhance the measures immediately.
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- May/2/23 2:42:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for the gutless minister, when did he find out—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/2/23 2:43:03 p.m.
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I want to remind the hon. members that unparliamentary language is not welcome in the chamber. Calling people names is not permitted. It is not the first time. It is not the second time. I want to remind the hon. member that the next time I will have to take his question away from him.
The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.
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- May/2/23 2:43:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when did the minister find out that a member of the House was threatened by a foreign diplomat from Beijing?
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- May/2/23 2:43:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives continue to pose the same question, they will get the same answer.
At the very core of the premise of those questions is the suggestion that somehow this government does not care about the hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills. Nothing could be further from the truth. We may have disagreements in this chamber about domestic and foreign policy, but we will always stand united behind the right of all members to do their job to represent their constituencies, because that is a fundamental value of standing up for democracy.
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- May/2/23 2:44:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for the eighth time, when did the minister find out?
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- May/2/23 2:44:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since we continue to get the same question in a broken-record format, let me highlight exactly what we are doing to combat foreign interference.
We introduced Bill C-59 to give CSIS additional threat reduction measure powers. We introduced Bill C-76 to crack down on foreign funding. We introduced the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians so we could work across partisan lines. We finally introduced NSIRA to ensure transparency on how we do this work to Canadians.
What is the distinction? We did those things; the Conservatives opposed.
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- May/2/23 2:44:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the responses are not answering the questions we are asking. Once again, we are asking a very simple question.
When did cabinet and the minister find out that a member of the House of Commons was being harassed by Beijing?
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- May/2/23 2:45:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have explained several times now, decisions about what information should or should not be shared with the public are made by our public servants, who work in an independent and non-partisan manner. Yes, I will be working with the member for Wellington—Halton Hills to brief him and share information, because this government is there to protect not only that member, but everyone who works in the House.
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- May/2/23 2:45:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a very simple question that deserves a clear answer.
When did the government find out that the Communist regime in Beijing was threatening people elected to the House of Commons?
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- May/2/23 2:46:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. colleague understands the answer now. I hope that he and all of his colleagues will change their position on national security issues and challenges and support all of the government's efforts, such as creating new powers, increasing transparency and, most importantly, protecting democratic institutions as well as everyone who works in those institutions.
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- May/2/23 2:46:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the ongoing genocide of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, transwomen, gender non-conforming and two-spirit people is a Canada-wide emergency. Relatives of lost loved ones, human rights advocates and survivors are calling on the government to take action to end this unrelenting violence. We are not disposable. Our lives are precious and we deserve justice.
Will the Liberals recognize this ongoing genocide as a Canada-wide emergency?
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- May/2/23 2:47:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think the answer to that is a resounding yes. Yesterday, I was in Val-d'Or to underline a $60-million investment in the Friendship Centre there, which will allow people to use Val-d'Or as a regional hub and to get the culturally sensitive and appropriate care they need. That will save lives and address the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
This is a tragedy, but doing public policy by tragedy only leads to tragic results. I can only direct people to the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls to see the systematic work that needs to be done by our government, the provincial governments and municipal governments to make sure—
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- May/2/23 2:47:55 p.m.
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The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay.
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- May/2/23 2:47:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada needs to get its critical mineral supply chain off the ground, but Doug Ford has thrown a major spike in this by doing away with the duty for mining companies to come up with the funds for environmental cleaning. There is not a first nation anywhere that will allow mining without the guarantees for closure. Doug Ford is now driving his bulldozer all over the duty to consult and the result is Treaty 9 has launched a $95-billion lawsuit against Doug Ford and the government.
What steps will the minister take to ensure that sustainability and the duty to consult remain at the heart of our critical mineral strategy?
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- May/2/23 2:48:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the way we can get good projects built, including the critical mineral projects that are essential for the energy transition and offer an enormous economic opportunity to this country, is to do things the right way by respecting the rights of indigenous communities, ensuring that we are consulting thoroughly, working with indigenous communities as partners in these projects and ensuring that we are doing thorough environmental assessments. That is how we move projects forward.
That is very different from the gutting of the environmental assessment process that happened under Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. We are committed that going forward—
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