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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 189

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
  • 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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  • May/2/23 2:49:17 p.m.
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The hon. member for St. John's East.
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  • May/2/23 2:49:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada believes in the collective bargaining process and the best deals are the ones that are reached at the table. Public servants work hard to deliver important services to Canadians. Could the President of the Treasury Board update the House on negotiations with the Public Service Alliance of Canada?
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  • May/2/23 2:49:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the MP for St. John's East for her tireless work for constituents. After many weeks of hard work, negotiation and compromise, the government has reached tentative agreements with PSAC for the core public administration. We appreciate Canadians' patience and understanding over this time because the best deals are reached at the bargaining table. We are deeply grateful for the public servants who work hard to serve Canadians. These deals are fair, competitive and reasonable, and bring stability to public servants and Canadians.
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  • May/2/23 2:50:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is right that it would be outrageous for a government minister to know that a foreign agent was granted credentials by the government to carry out threats against an MP's family because of a vote held in the House of Commons. That would be outrageous. The only way we can know if it actually happened is if the minister tells us when he saw this briefing note or any related information showing that the MP's family was threatened. When did he learn of it?
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  • May/2/23 2:51:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there have been a number of questions on this issue. I agree with my Conservative colleague, in a moment of some consensus, that decisions regarding national security and intelligence should not be politicized. I would certainly hope that this is not what the Conservative leader is now suggesting, yet it was him who said, a little more than a month ago, that when he was the minister responsible for democratic institutions, he knew about these things and he did not act because he did not think it was in his interest to do so. Let us now unite—
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  • May/2/23 2:51:44 p.m.
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The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
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  • May/2/23 2:51:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we do have to put the partisanship aside. It would have been a non-partisan act for the government to protect the MP's family, even though he is from another party. It would have been a non-partisan act to strip away the diplomatic immunity and kick this foreign agent out of country, yet the government did not do that. We now need to know the facts. The briefing note showing these threats occurred was produced in July 2021. When did the minister find out?
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  • May/2/23 2:52:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat encouraged. At least the Conservative leader is now using the right words for a change, in that he is saying it is non-partisan, which is what the government has been saying for months now on this issue. I have said to the Conservative leader and the member for Wellington—Halton Hills that we will work with them to get them the information on this issue. CSIS has offered a briefing to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, and the Conservatives now, finally, hopefully after some reflection, will agree to work with the government to protect our institutions and the people who work in this chamber.
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  • May/2/23 2:53:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the government knew that an MP's family was being threatened by a foreign agent and did nothing to kick that agent out, that is an outrage. The briefing on this incident is from July 2021. We need to know when the minister found out that these threats had been made against a member of the House of Commons and his family.
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  • May/2/23 2:53:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely outrageous that the leader of the Conservatives would suggest that the government has no concern for the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. I contacted him yesterday to offer support and to offer a briefing with CSIS. This government is committed to working with all members of the House to protect our institutions and everyone who works here.
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  • May/2/23 2:54:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a question of the gravest importance. There is a member of Parliament, of the House of Commons, whose family has been threatened because of the way he voted here. How can we defend national security on the floor of the House of Commons if our family members are being threatened based on the votes that we cast? We need to know whether the government is protecting us against that, or we cannot do our work. Therefore, I will ask this one last time: When did the minister know that these threats were directed at this MP's family?
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