44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 4, 2023 10:00AM
- May/4/23 10:54:57 a.m.
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I really do not appreciate the hon. member for Regina—Lewvan—
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- May/4/23 10:54:57 a.m.
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- May/4/23 10:58:51 a.m.
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On a point of order, the hon. member for Battlefords—Lloydminster.
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- May/4/23 10:58:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would ask that you remind all members to be judicious in their language. Using the word “catcall” in something so serious is offensive. As a woman, I am offended that this language is being used in this form of debate.
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- May/4/23 10:59:15 a.m.
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I want to remind members to be extremely careful with the words they use.
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- May/4/23 10:59:30 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, if the use of that word was offensive, I unreservedly apologize and withdraw the word. Instead, I would say that the name-calling from the opposition and the ongoing chirping do not help progress the conversation on working toward our democracy—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/4/23 10:59:52 a.m.
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I am going to again remind members to be very respectful toward each other, and when they do not have the floor, they should not be making comments or trying to pose questions. If this continues, those members who are continually doing this will not be recognized should they decide to get up for questions and comments.
The hon. member for Vancouver Granville has the floor.
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- May/4/23 11:00:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in the remaining time I have, I would just like to say a couple of things. CSIS has been reporting on the challenges to our democracy and foreign interference since 2013. That was a time when many of the members opposite were part of the government, and the prime minister of the day chose not to act. The minister for democratic reform, who is now the Leader of the Opposition, chose not to be involved. When he was asked why, he said it was because he did not feel the Chinese government was helping his party get elected, so it was not worth getting involved.
If all of us in this House believe that a threat to one of us is a threat to all of us, which I know we believe on this side of the House, then it is up to all of us to hold to account those who chose not to act when they had the opportunity. It is also incumbent upon all of us to act when we do have the opportunity, which is what our government has done since we took office. The processes that have been put in place, the tables that have been created and the committees that are doing the hard work, all of that work is going to help strengthen our democracy in the face of threats that evolve every single day.
I know that Canadians can look with confidence at this side of the House, at this government and at the actions we are taking, because they know we are doing it not to preserve our own interests, but to preserve the democracy that we cherish. It is to ensure that every single Canadian, regardless of their background, their faith, the colour of their skin or their sexual orientation, can feel proud to participate in our democratic process. That is something that comes by respecting the diversity of this country. It comes by working with communities to ensure that foreign actors do not have the opportunity to permeate and succeed.
That is the work we are doing. It is the work we will continue to do with our law enforcement agencies, with communities and with all Canadians who chose to be part of this conversation.
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- May/4/23 11:02:35 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, that was quite a speech after we just sat and watched a group of Liberal members of Parliament mocking and laughing at the member for St. Albert—Edmonton as he was speaking earlier.
The member talks about taking these concerns very seriously, but earlier, in a question, the member for Kingston and the Islands referred to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills as “supposedly affected” by this situation. The Liberal parliamentary secretary to the House leader, in referring to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, while heckling, said that the member is not credible. This is a quote.
Will the hon. member—
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- May/4/23 11:03:07 a.m.
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The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader is rising on a point of order.
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- May/4/23 11:03:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Hansard will clearly indicate the many words I said inside the chamber. I do not necessarily need the member opposite to pretend he is Hansard by trying to convey things that I said that are not recorded in Hansard. I honestly cannot recall and I do not believe the member knows either.
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- May/4/23 11:03:35 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member is not saying that he did not say those words; he is just saying that they were not recorded. He absolutely said those words. I was sitting right here and I heard him say them.
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- May/4/23 11:03:48 a.m.
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This is becoming a point of debate. As for what was said and what was not, I will endeavour to ask that we review Hansard to see if we can determine what was said and come back to the House if need be.
The hon. member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin can continue with his question, which I would ask that he wrap up. There are only 20 seconds left.
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- May/4/23 11:04:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it will not take me 20 seconds. My question, given the gravity of the situation, is very straightforward: Will the hon. member who just spoke turn around and ask his two colleagues, who hold leadership positions in his party, to unreservedly apologize to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills?
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- May/4/23 11:05:06 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, every single member in this House belongs to what I consider to be a parliamentary family. We may not agree on politics. We may not agree on policy. However, one thing that is important to me, as a Canadian and as somebody whose family left very difficult circumstances to come to this country because of the democracy we hold dear, is that I take threats to any member of this House very seriously. To me, it is very important that any member of this House feels safe in doing this job and that their families are not under threat. Every single member of this House has an opportunity and obligation to work together so we can find solutions to the problems that we want none of our families to face.
I think it has been very clear, by the actions the Prime Minister has taken since he found out about this on Monday, that we will engage with any members affected by this in a productive and thoughtful manner.
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- May/4/23 11:06:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was a little taken aback by something my colleague seemed to be implying in his speech at one point. He seemed to be saying that we could be encouraging foreign interference, emboldening other countries, merely by asking questions. Apparently, the opposition parties are somehow making us more vulnerable simply by asking questions in the House or on committees about interference. That kind of talk is really hard to bear.
What does my colleague think our work here is about anyway, if not exactly that, to ask questions about important issues like a foreign country's interference in our democratic process? Does he really think we should stop asking questions about it?
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- May/4/23 11:07:06 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, allow me to clarify. That is not what I said.
Asking questions and getting answers to those questions is very important. However, the danger, or the issue, arises when our rhetoric or our words are meant to create mistrust in our institutions.
The act of asking questions in this chamber is critically important. I welcome, and we all welcome, these questions, but we should draw a fundamental difference between asking questions in the House, which is a critical responsibility of all of us, and going out there to misrepresent facts, score political points and, most importantly, sow discord.
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- May/4/23 11:08:12 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a quick comment and then a question.
I want to begin by saying that New Democrats stand in solidarity with community members who have been the target of threats and intimidation in support of the Chinese government. Canadians deserve to feel safe, and Canada must not tolerate any type of intimidation, harassment or targeting of the diaspora communities. I want to stand, personally, as the member for Hamilton Centre to extend my solidarity with the member for Wellington—Halton Hills for what he and his family have had to go through.
For my question, there seems to be some discrepancies about who knew what and when, and exactly what it was they did about it. The public safety minister said that he did not hear about China targeting the member for Wellington—Halton Hills until this past Monday, but CSIS was aware two years ago.
The Prime Minister claims he does not know either, yet we have been presented with the CSIS report for 2022, where it states that “foreign intelligence may...be collected from within Canada at the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the Minister of National Defence, and with the consent of the Minister of Public Safety.” If there were any involvement here in Canada, why was it that the Minister of Public Safety was not briefed on this, and what is he going to do about it?
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- May/4/23 11:09:34 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the way that the process works is that CSIS determines what the briefing should look like. If it rises to the level that it should reach the Prime Minister or the ministers, CSIS makes that determination. If that is not the case, and I am given to understand that it was not the case for the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, a defensive briefing is given to that particular member. It was my understanding that the member was briefed a couple of years ago.
If in fact that is true, if the member for Wellington—Halton Hills was briefed prior to Monday, the minister was informed on Monday. There is a material difference between a briefing given to a member and one given when the level rises such that somebody else, a minister or the Prime Minister, would be informed of the same.
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- May/4/23 11:10:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to start by expressing my support for my colleague, the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. Like him, I am a proud Canadian of Chinese heritage, and it is leaders like him who made it easier for people like me to serve today.
My Liberal colleague talked about transparency and accountability. The fact has been that it is now confirmed, not only by CSIS but also by the Prime Minister, that a Chinese diplomat targeted my Conservative colleague.
Would my colleague not agree that this action is clearly in contravention of the Vienna Convention? Why does the government not exercise article 9 to declare this diplomat persona non grata and kick him out of the country?
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