44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 3, 2023 02:00PM
- May/3/23 2:32:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government appointed Mr. Johnston, a distinguished Canadian, as a national security adviser.
Mr. Johnston will make recommendations, which may include holding a public inquiry if necessary. That is another tangible example of how this government has put in place policies and resources to counter foreign interference.
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- May/3/23 2:32:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is fine, but let me try to clarify something.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister said that he has had no contact with the foundation for 10 years. Let us assume we are a naive bunch and say that is true.
That is not what I was asking yesterday. It was a supplementary question. If the Prime Minister's brother were to be implicated by the Canada Revenue Agency, by another authority or even by the committee, would the Prime Minister acknowledge that he is not qualified to be involved in appointing the chair of a public commission of inquiry?
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- May/3/23 2:33:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has said several times, there is no connection between him and the Trudeau Foundation, either direct or indirect. It is very clear.
The foundation is responsible for granting scholarships. I think it is entirely irresponsible to attack an independent foundation.
If the leader of the Bloc Québécois has any questions, he should ask the foundation.
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- May/3/23 2:34:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the revelations about threats made against a member of Parliament and his family are disturbing.
It is also disturbing that the Minister of Public Safety cannot say when he was informed of these threats.
The minister has had 24 hours for someone to jog his memory, so now can he tell us when he was informed of these threats?
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- May/3/23 2:34:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that we have laws to protect information that is classified as “top secret”.
We rely on the advice of our independent, non-partisan public servants to guide us in decisions about disclosing information. CSIS briefed the member for Wellington—Halton Hills yesterday.
We will continue to work with all members of Parliament to protect the people who work in our democratic institutions.
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- May/3/23 2:35:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not think the government understands how serious this is. We have a member of Parliament, and his family, being threatened by a foreign government for the work he does in Parliament. That is a problem. That is something serious. The government is not taking it seriously. I have written a letter to the Prime Minister to call all party leaders to deal with this really serious matter.
In the meantime, could the government and the Prime Minister inform the House of whether there are any other members of Parliament who are currently the subject of similar threats?
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- May/3/23 2:35:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course we care for the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, which is why we have been providing him support through multiple briefings from CSIS, as we care for the safety and security of all members in the chamber, the people who support them and their families. That is why the government, since day one, has been giving additional powers to CSIS to address concerns about foreign interference.
I would just pause to note that we are in a different era. This threat landscape has become much more complex. The government will continue to be vigilant when it comes to protecting our democratic institutions and the people who work within them.
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- May/3/23 2:36:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in reference to the July 2021 intelligence assessment, this morning, the Prime Minister said, “CSIS made the determination that it wasn't something that needed be raised to a higher level”, but former CSIS director Dick Fadden said that the assessment would certainly have been sent to the Department of Public Safety, the Department Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister's national security adviser, who appears to have been David Morrison, the current deputy minister of foreign affairs.
Will the government confirm the Prime Minister's assertion this morning that the intelligence assessment never made it out of CSIS?
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- May/3/23 2:37:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can certainly confirm that we are guided by the advice we get from our intelligence agencies, which is strictly governed under the Security of Information Act, as my colleague across the aisle knows.
It is important that we navigate this very carefully because when we talk about matters that relate to national security, it is people's lives that are at stake: the people who work for CSIS, within the law enforcement community and in this chamber, including the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. That is why we briefed him numerous times. We will continue to ensure his safety and security so we can protect the people who work within these institutions.
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- May/3/23 2:37:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, Dick Fadden said today the assessment would certainly have been sent to the departments of foreign affairs and public safety and to the Prime Minister's national security adviser. Cherie Henderson, a CSIS assistant director, recently testified, “I can say that we definitely have seen specific cases of hostile activities of states against politicians. In those specific cases, we definitely brief our government on the challenges that are being faced.”
How are we supposed to reconcile these differing and conflicting accounts?
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- May/3/23 2:38:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would hope that the member opposite would be able to reconcile that with his own personal experience, which was that, within the last 24 hours, he not only received a briefing, but also, on a number of occasions, received support from CSIS—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/3/23 2:38:44 p.m.
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I am having a hard time hearing the hon. minister. The hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills has asked a question, for which he deserves to hear the response, so I am going to ask everyone to bring it down a notch to listen to what the hon. minister has to say.
The hon. Minister of Public Safety can begin from the top, please.
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- May/3/23 2:39:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying before I was interrupted by the Conservatives across the aisle, the member opposite has received briefings from CSIS on a number of occasions. That is one of the ways in which we are attempting to address the concerns that have been raised around foreign interference.
More importantly than that, we have put in place people, resources, new laws and transparency mechanisms to shine a light on the way in which we are combatting foreign interference, so we can protect the people in this chamber, as well as their loved ones. That is our paramount objective.
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- May/3/23 2:39:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only light that is being shone is by the Globe and Mail on the government's failure to keep parliamentarians informed and safe when foreign actors are threatening them.
We heard very clearly from CSIS officials at committee who said, “In those specific cases, we definitely brief our government on the challenges that are being faced.” We heard from the Prime Minister's own chief of staff that the Prime Minister is a voracious reader of all the briefing notes that come across his desk. Are we supposed to believe that the Globe and Mail gets briefed by CSIS before the Prime Minister?
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- May/3/23 2:40:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those types of absurd suggestions do not advance this debate, neither does the suggestion that we do not care about the members opposite or their safety and security.
As I said yesterday, there are intense debates in the chamber about both foreign and domestic policy, but rest assured that the members of this government will do everything in their power to fight against foreign interference to protect the members who work in the chamber, and their families, so we can defend our democratic institutions. That is something we should all be united behind.
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- May/3/23 2:40:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the exact opposite has proven to be true. For two years, they failed to inform the member for Wellington—Halton Hills about these threats against his family. This is an attack on all parliamentarians. We have now known, based on the reports in the Globe and Mail, that the government knew two years ago.
The question is very simple, and instead of the minister carrying on with non-answers, he needs to be very direct. When did the minister's office become aware of this specific instance?
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- May/3/23 2:41:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear that, as soon as we became aware of this specific issue regarding the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, we took decisive action.
We reached out. We spoke to the member opposite. We offered him a briefing. We made sure that the briefing occurred. It occurred yesterday. It was not the only briefing the member opposite received, which is because we want to be sure we can protect him, his family and, indeed, all members in this chamber, so they can do their job, represent their constituencies and defend our sworn obligation to uphold this democracy.
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- May/3/23 2:42:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, words are just that, simply words.
On March 7 in a parliamentary committee, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated, “let me tell you, if we have any form of clear evidence of any wrongdoing, we will send diplomats packing very quickly.”
The Liberals have known for two years that a diplomat from Beijing targeted a Conservative MP and his family after a vote in the House. As of Monday, every Canadian knows about this secret that the Prime Minister had hoped to keep to himself.
Was it because it is a Conservative MP that the Prime Minister did not consider this diplomat's actions reprehensible and send him packing very quickly?
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- May/3/23 2:42:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that assertion is utterly false and below the dignity of this chamber.
Let me be very clear. Our government has repeatedly stated that we follow the Vienna Convention. If there is any evidence that is brought to our attention that a diplomat is acting outside of the Vienna Convention, we will act upon it because we take the rule of law seriously, and we take the rule of law to the core.
We will continue to fight to ensure that not just members of Parliament are protected, but every Canadian is protected from foreign interference.
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- May/3/23 2:43:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Vienna Convention is very clear. They do not need a reason to expel a diplomat. They could do it right now, immediately, if they wanted to. However, they will not, because the reality is that they were the ones who benefited from what was happening.
What does the Prime Minister have that is so important to protect? We want to know. The government has known for two years. The public has known since Monday. When will the Prime Minister finally do the right thing and expel the bully diplomat from Beijing?
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