44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 4, 2023 10:00AM
- May/4/23 2:25:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a sad day for democracy. Rarely have we seen a political party sink so low.
A member of the House is being threatened by a bully diplomat from Beijing. The member for Winnipeg North and the member for Kingston and the Islands, on behalf of this government and this Prime Minister, have taken over and are now conspiring against our Conservative colleague. They are spreading disinformation. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Why are they siding with Beijing rather than a Canadian MP?
When will the Prime Minister apologize for the offensive attitude shown by members of his political party?
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- May/4/23 2:26:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure my colleague. We share the concerns of the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, which is why we offered him a briefing.
We will continue to offer him support, as well as all members who work in the House, to protect our democratic institutions.
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- May/4/23 2:26:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is disinformation.
The member for Wellington—Halton Hills learned today that the CSIS memo indicating that he was obviously being bullied by a diplomat from the Beijing consulate in Toronto was passed on to anyone and everyone on the Liberal side of the House.
However, the Liberals are denying the truth. They did absolutely nothing. They have not expelled any diplomats and they continue to spread disinformation.
When will they apologize? Will they be ashamed to go before their membership with such lies?
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- May/4/23 2:27:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I fully understand the frustration and fear that our colleague felt knowing that he and his family could be targeted by the government in Beijing.
That is why we have always said and will always say that any form of foreign interference is unacceptable. That is why my deputy minister summoned the Chinese ambassador earlier today.
An hon. member: Oh, oh!
Hon. Mélanie Joly: Mr. Speaker, if I could continue to speak without my colleague interrupting me, which we also said—
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- May/4/23 2:28:15 p.m.
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The hon. member for Saint-Jean.
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- May/4/23 2:28:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a new development has surfaced.
The Prime Minister claims that CSIS made the decision not to inform the opposition member that he was the target of threats from China.
Richard Fadden, a former CSIS director, demolished this excuse in The Globe and Mail. Mr. Fadden explained that not only would the memo that the media found have been sent to the Prime Minister's office, but it would also have been sent to the departments of foreign affairs and public safety. This means that, at the very least, the Prime Minister and two ministers had the memo.
Why did he keep it a secret?
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- May/4/23 2:28:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear: It was only on Monday of this week that the Prime Minister, the government members and I were informed about concerns regarding the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. Once we found out, we dealt with the situation. We provided a briefing to the opposition member.
We are going to keep working with all members to protect our democratic institutions.
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- May/4/23 2:29:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is blaming CSIS, but he has been ignoring their warnings for years.
Even before the 2019 election, CSIS warned him that a Liberal candidate was possibly being supported by China. He ignored that. CSIS later warned him that the same Liberal member was discussing the two Michaels with Beijing. He ignored that. In 2021, CSIS warned him that China was threatening an opposition MP. He ignored that. He is only showing an interest in all this today because the information was leaked to the media.
Is it worthy of a member of the Five Eyes alliance to blame its intelligence service for its own willful blindness?
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- May/4/23 2:30:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is working closely with our allies, including the Five Eyes and the G7. That is why we created a protocol to combat disinformation. That is why we will continue to work with all parliamentarians to combat foreign interference with tools and resources.
This is not a partisan issue. It is a Canadian issue. We need all members to stand together to protect our democratic institutions.
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- May/4/23 2:30:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been the leader of the Liberal Party for 10 years. In those 10 years, there has been a lot of broken promises and empty words, particularly when it comes to housing.
The Prime Minister promised to make housing more affordable, and it has been the opposite. It has become more expensive than ever before. At the same time, profiteers have been making more than ever before.
When will the Prime Minister take the housing crisis seriously and acknowledge that we are in an emergency situation that needs urgent action to fix?
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- May/4/23 2:31:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. We share the same objective, which is to increase the housing supply for all Canadians in this country.
This is exactly why we created the national housing strategy. We invested more money, and we also invested in the right to housing. We are going to keep working on behalf of all Canadians.
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- May/4/23 2:31:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite all that, housing is more expensive than ever.
The Prime Minister has been the leader of the Liberal Party for 10 years. In those 10 years, his record when it comes to solving the housing crisis adds up to a whole lot of nothing. He is all talk, no action.
Clearly, we are in a housing crisis. When is this government going to take the housing crisis seriously and solve the problem?
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- May/4/23 2:32:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. Where I come from, when someone uses the “all talk, no action” line, it is because they have run out of arguments.
This national housing strategy has gotten 36,000 people off the streets. It has helped 68,000 people stay off the streets. In the last budget, we earmarked $4 billion for an indigenous strategy. On this side of the House, we are all action.
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- May/4/23 2:32:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a massive hole has been blown through the Prime Minister's story about the foreign interference campaign and harassment of the family of a member of Parliament.
We now have confirmation that CSIS informed the national security adviser to the Prime Minister that families of members of Parliament were being targeted by an operative from the Communist regime in Beijing to intimidate that member's family because of a vote in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister claims that he only found out about it on Monday. We now know they have known about this for two years. Why have the Liberals allowed this operative to continue this interference campaign?
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- May/4/23 2:33:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague heard earlier in this question period, my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Chinese ambassador to make it abundantly clear what is legitimate and what is not. This is consistent with Canada's strong position when it comes to hostile activities, especially with regard to foreign interference.
Every single member in this chamber has a right to represent their constituents in complete and total safety. We will continue to work across the aisle with all parliamentarians to make sure that objective is secure.
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- May/4/23 2:34:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it sounds like the Minister of Public Safety is saying that the Chinese consular office had to be told what is allowed and what is not allowed in Canada when it comes to foreign interference. Is that the excuse for letting this operative stay?
This operative from the communist regime has been conducting an interference campaign and a harassment campaign, targeting the family of a member of Parliament because of a vote in the House of Commons. We now know they have known about this for two years. Why is this operative still in Canada?
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- May/4/23 2:34:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is one thing I will agree on, and that is that Canada will always be clear about what the boundaries are, and what is right, legitimate and lawful, and what is not.
I will tell the House that that is a far better approach than the one the Conservatives proposed when we were getting the two Michaels back, which would have been to capitulate to the People's Republic of China. We will never do that. We will always stand up for human rights. We got the two Michaels back. We will make sure we protect all members in this chamber, so we can uphold our democracy.
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- May/4/23 2:35:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, two high-ranking senior Liberals entered the House claiming the member for Wellington—Halton Hills was briefed two years ago about the threatening allegations and simply ignored it, not talking to colleagues or his family in Canada and abroad. This is outrageous and inexcusable but, most importantly, unbelievable.
To the public safety minister, Canadians are watching you, sir, and they demand an answer. When were you first briefed?
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- May/4/23 2:35:44 p.m.
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I would remind hon. members to please, when asking a question, not ask or speak directly to each other, but through the Chair.
The hon. public safety minister.
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- May/4/23 2:36:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first I would like to reiterate that we do take the concerns that have been expressed by the member for Wellington—Halton Hills very seriously. That is why, as soon as we were informed about this issue, which was Monday earlier this week, we reached out to him directly. We offered a briefing to him. We made sure that briefing happened, and we will continue to work with him and all members to make sure that we can uphold our democracy.
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