44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 8, 2023 11:00AM
- May/8/23 2:40:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what an embarrassing answer. A member of the House and his family were targeted by a bully diplomat from Beijing following a vote in the House. The events occurred two years ago, yet the member was only informed last week.
Since then, the Liberals have been whipped into a frenzy. Instead of supporting our colleague, they have accused him. Who accused him? It was the member for Kingston and the Islands and the member for Winnipeg North. Worse, the member for Papineau and Prime Minister, who had to have known, claims that the opposition member knew, but the member in question told us that is not true.
Are all the Liberal ministers okay with defending a Beijing bully instead of a Canadian MP and his family?
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- May/8/23 2:41:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every minister in our government—and this should be true of every member of the House—agrees that we must work together to protect democratic institutions and to ensure that all members of the House, including our friend from Wellington—Halton Hills, are able to do their jobs as members of Parliament without foreign interference.
This has always been a priority for our government. We have implemented measures that did not exist under the previous government. We will continue to strengthen them further.
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- May/8/23 2:42:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, how can the Liberals continue doing something that they never started doing in the first place? The Prime Minister did nothing. The Prime Minister's Office did nothing. The Minister of Foreign Affairs did nothing. The Minister of Public Safety did nothing. There were no arrests and no expulsions. This sends a clear message: Beijing can go on intimidating Canadian MPs, and this Prime Minister will just keep his eyes shut.
The only real consequences are that two members of the House were silenced for trying to put a stop to Liberal disinformation. Why is the Prime Minister putting up with the ongoing presence in Canada of a bullying agent from Beijing?
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- May/8/23 2:42:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague seems confused. The person who did nothing to protect our democratic institutions against the already existing threat of foreign interference is the current Leader of the Opposition, when he was the minister responsible for democratic institutions.
Since we formed the government, we have taken action. We will be announcing more action to strengthen the measures we introduced in 2019 and 2021. We will keep on protecting our democratic institutions.
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- May/8/23 2:43:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no country in recent history has planned to triple its population in 75 years. The Century Initiative deserves a responsible, intelligent debate. Quebeckers have some questions, and rightly so. There has been no debate, and the federal government appears to be going ahead with it anyway.
Ottawa's immigration targets for 2025 already match those of the Century Initiative. Would the Liberals like to distance themselves from the Century Initiative, or are they confirming that this is Canada's immigration plan?
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- May/8/23 2:43:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am making decisions that are essential to supporting our economy and ensuring population growth in our community. It is important that every member of the House understand that protecting the demographic weight of francophones in this country can be achieved while also increasing the number of newcomers.
As the member well knows, it is up to the Government of Quebec to set the immigration levels for its province, and it is up to the federal government to set the levels for the entire country. I continue to increase the numbers to support our economy. It is good for Canada, and it is good for Quebec.
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- May/8/23 2:44:28 p.m.
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What a coincidence, Mr. Speaker. The federal government's targets are the same as those of the Century Initiative.
The Century Initiative's top priority is economic interests. Dominic Barton confirmed that they did not think about anything else. They did not think about the impact that tripling the population would have on the future of French. They also did not think about indigenous languages or the political weight of the first nations. They did not think about the housing shortage.
The Century Initiative's targets are based only on economic interests, but can the government at least prove that it considered other factors before using those same targets?
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- May/8/23 2:45:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, it is not up to me to defend the Century Initiative's decisions. However, it is up to me to put forward ideas for our government. I am the one who decides on the targets set out in the federal government's immigration plan. Those targets take into account economic and social factors, particularly the decision to increase the number of francophone newcomers.
Last year, for the first time in Canada's history, we reached the target of 4.4% francophone newcomers. That is a good thing. I will continue to protect the French language.
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- May/8/23 2:45:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they are congratulating themselves on reaching their target once in 20 years. That speaks volumes.
It is unthinkable to triple the population to 100 million without public debate. Doing so would mean fundamentally changing Canada and Quebec behind closed doors with input only from economic circles.
Immigration policies are not a virtue contest, they are public choices with real consequences that should be democratic. No one has asked Quebeckers or Canadians what they think. No one has asked workers, community organizations, groups dedicated to delivering services to the public what they think.
Why would economic circles have the first, last and only say on this?
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- May/8/23 2:46:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my friend is totally missing the mark. In reality, it is up to the Government of Quebec to set immigration thresholds for that province.
If members from the Bloc Québécois want the federal government to establish these thresholds for the Province of Quebec, then I invite them to appeal to my counterpart, Minister Fréchette. It would be interesting to hear how that conversation goes.
I have respected Quebec's jurisdictions. I have respected the terms of the agreement with Quebec and I increased the number of newcomers in general, in order to protect the French language while increasing the demographic weight of francophones.
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- May/8/23 2:47:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the current government has failed Canadians when it comes to foreign interference from Beijing. At least eight police stations have been set up to monitor Canadians on their own soil. Eleven MPs have had interference in either their nomination or election. Two years ago, a sitting MP had his family intimidated by a Beijing operative in Toronto. With all the inaction, the very least Canadians can expect is to have that operative kicked out of Canada. When will he be?
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- May/8/23 2:47:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to assure every member of the House that we take this situation extremely seriously, as we have been doing with foreign interference for many years. We will continue to look at the situation as we have heard it. We will continue to do due diligence, and the minister will act with the right decision at the right time. This House needs to hear that.
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- May/8/23 2:48:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister should convene some courage.
I misspoke. I mentioned one MP whose family was intimidated. The Globe and Mail actually reported that it was MPs, plural. This should shake every MP in this House to the core. In sports, there is this saying: “Leaders anticipate, and losers react.” The current government is not even reacting. This is so much the case that the agents in Beijing wrote that they do not even care about the repercussions because there will not be any. Canadians deserve a government that will stand up for them. When will they get it?
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- May/8/23 2:48:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, let me assure every member of this House that there are always repercussions if anybody breaks a law and if anybody goes outside their Vienna Convention responsibilities. Canada will continue to work to ensure that Canadians and members of this Parliament are safe.
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- May/8/23 2:49:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service detected that a member of Parliament and his family were being targeted by an operative from Beijing in response to a vote in this House of Commons. We know that CSIS informed the national security adviser to the Prime Minister and the relevant departments at least two years ago. The Liberal government is now blaming CSIS for the government's own failure and inaction, and it has yet to expel any diplomats from Canada. Why is the Prime Minister allowing this Beijing operative to continue his interference campaign on Canadian soil?
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- May/8/23 2:49:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has always stood up for democracy in Canada and around the world, and it always will. We stood up for democracy when we supported the brave people of Ukraine with Operation Unifier. We stood up for democracy when we expelled four Russian diplomats after the deplorable nerve agent attack in the U.K. We stood up for democracy when we honoured our extradition treaty with the U.S. and detained Meng Wanzhou, despite unacceptable bullying by the government of China.
We will always stand up for democracy on this side.
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- May/8/23 2:50:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, more than 30,000 Albertans have been forced from their homes because of wildfires, and there is a serious lack of information about where they can get help and when.
In the absence of provincial leadership, can the Minister of Emergency Preparedness reassure the thousands of Albertans, particularly indigenous and Métis communities that have been affected by wildfires, that the federal government will be there to help with the recovery and rebuilding for as long as necessary?
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- May/8/23 2:50:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are literally thousands of Albertans who have been significantly impacted by the wildfires. However, I also want to say that, throughout the past weekend, I have been in regular contact with my counterpart in the Alberta provincial government, Minister Ellis. The Prime Minister and the premier spoke earlier today, and about an hour ago, we received a request for federal assistance from the Province of Alberta. Everybody is working to help those people and to make sure that the supports that are needed are there for them to keep them safe and to make sure that we help them through this very difficult time.
I will take this opportunity as well to offer my very sincere thanks to all the first responders and firefighters, who are doing an extraordinary job.
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- May/8/23 2:51:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during National Nursing Week, we recognize the critical role nurses play in our communities.
Last weekend, I travelled to Newfoundland and Labrador for important discussions on health care. I learned that there are 750 vacant nursing positions in that province. Ninety per cent of nurses experience burnout, and 85% believe that understaffing is creating unsafe conditions for patients.
Nurses called on the government to include an emergency retention fund in this year's budget, but no help was delivered. When will the Liberals finally provide this crucial support for Canada's nurses?
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- May/8/23 2:52:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we recognize that Canadians are proud of our health care system, but it is not meeting expectations these days. That is why we made a $198.6-billion investment in our health care system back on February 7, and we expect that is going to help with things like the human resources and health care challenges that my colleague and friend has articulated so well.
I am glad that the member is meeting with nurses; I have been too. We recognize that it is a very challenging role in the health care system, and we have to do more to make sure that they are supported. This includes retention and better recruitment; we also have to take care of those who are working in that sector. We recognize, especially now that it is Mental Health Week, that there are repercussions for them.
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