44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 8, 2023 11:00AM
- May/8/23 6:10:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one thing I noticed is that when you were standing up, the member's light was still on. It is convention in this place, in fact it is a standing rule in this place, that when a Speaker rises from his or her chair, the lights are immediately cut off and the debate is ended. I just want clarification on that.
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- May/8/23 6:11:09 p.m.
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It all depends on whether I stay standing or not. Sometimes it is still on while I am listening to the member. I take note of it and we will certainly keep that in mind as we move forward.
I would ask the hon. member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin to ask a brief question so we can get to the answer.
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- May/8/23 6:11:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member is correct. I did walk across and said that if he did not apologize, I am going to keep asking the question, and I will keep asking the question—
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- May/8/23 6:11:38 p.m.
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I would ask the hon. member to ask his question of the hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton. We can leave this other debate to the side so that we can go back and look at the Hansard.
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- May/8/23 6:11:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, does the member believe the hon. member for Winnipeg North should stand right now and apologize for saying that the member for Wellington—Halton Hills was not credible?
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- May/8/23 6:12:00 p.m.
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This is not becoming a point of debate as it is somebody's point of view. I am going to allow the hon. member to answer and then we are going to move on.
The hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton.
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- May/8/23 6:12:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in short, the answer to my colleague's question is yes.
Do members know who was intimidated? It is not the member for Winnipeg North. It is the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, and for two years the Prime Minister covered it up.
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- May/8/23 6:12:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, before I begin, I want to acknowledge the total hell that the family of our foreign affairs critic, the hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills, has been through. I also want to highlight and salute the courage he has shown in the face of threats from a foreign dictatorship. This should never have happened to any MP of any party. All Canadians are with him and his family. We wish them happiness and complete safety.
Unfortunately, a member, with the privileges of a member, told me something. I believe he will allow me to share it with my colleagues. How many families remain silent when faced with similar threats by this dictatorship? We have heard stories about this. Families of Chinese descent here in Canada, patriotic people who care about our country, tearfully asked our candidates, during the election, to go into their backyard, without their telephones, because they thought the regime was eavesdropping on them. Families are threatened by the police stations of a foreign dictatorship that exist across the country. We know that there are still at least two of them in Montreal.
The government has known about these threats for years. The Prime Minister and his government were aware that families were being threatened and that propaganda from a foreign dictatorship was being posted on social media. They knew that Canadians were being threatened. These individuals were being told not to vote for the Conservative Party in elections. Their families abroad were being threatened. The Liberals have known about all of these instances of interference for years. The government did absolutely nothing to stop it.
Instead, if any journalists asked about this, the government said they were racist in order to shut them down and avoid these kinds of questions. Our intelligence services had to leak it to the media. It is inconceivable that our intelligence services felt the need to give this confidential information to the media to inform the public of the Prime Minister's dangerous inaction. Why has the Prime Minister done nothing—and that is being generous—about this threat?
Allow me to list some possible explanations. We now know, thanks to our security intelligence services, that Beijing helped the Prime Minister win two elections. Is he happy to let this go on because the regime is helping the Liberal Party? Is he pleased to see it happen again in future elections because it would give him an edge? Are these the reasons he is doing nothing? Is it because he still admires the “basic dictatorship” of Communist China, to quote his words? Is it because Beijing donated $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation, the same foundation whose donors funded the Prime Minister's lavish vacations? Is it because he supports the regime's ideology? As he said himself, he admired Fidel Castro, another communist dictator.
Is it because the Liberal Party has corporate ties, financial ties, that have made members of the Liberal Party, including former prime minister Jean Chrétien, very rich?
We do not know why.
What we do know is that after he became Prime Minister of Canada, he went to Beijing. The dictatorship nicknamed him “little potato”. He was very proud of it. His foreign minister announced it to everyone and translated it from Mandarin to English to broadcast the fact that Beijing refers to our Prime Minister as the “little potato”. He is happy to be their “little potato” instead of our prime minister who protects our national security.
What we do know is that nothing has changed. After each and every Canadian learned that a member of Parliament had been threatened, it took one week for the Beijing agent who was responsible for those very threats to finally be expelled.
Then there was a motion in the House—
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- May/8/23 6:19:07 p.m.
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I must interrupt the hon. Leader of the Opposition. The hon. Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.
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- May/8/23 6:19:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I request that the ordinary hour of daily adjournment of the next sitting be 12:00 midnight, pursuant to order made Tuesday, November 15, 2022.
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- May/8/23 6:19:28 p.m.
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Pursuant to order made Tuesday, November 15, 2022, the minister's request to extend the said sitting is deemed adopted.
I invite the hon. Leader of the Opposition to continue his speech.
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- May/8/23 6:19:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister learned nothing or does not want to learn anything from these threats and the fact that Canadians found out about them.
Today, the House voted on a Conservative motion to create a registry of foreign agents, those people who are paid by dictatorships to influence and manipulate our policies here in Canada. The Prime Minister and his party voted against the motion. Why?
If a person wants to lobby for a food bank, they have to register. Why would we not ask the same from someone who wants to lobby for a foreign dictatorship? It makes no sense. These people who are paid to intimidate people and influence our politics can do so in secret. Everyone runs the risk of being approached by these same people because we do not know who they are. If a person working for Beijing or another dictatorship meets us in our offices, we never know if they are being paid by this government to do so. A registry like those that already exist in the United States and Australia would allow us to know who these people are. It is not a crime to work for a foreign government, but people should have to at least register so that we can know when that is the case. The Prime Minister, however, wants this to remain secret.
Our motion called for a public inquiry to get to the truth. The Prime Minister voted against that motion, choosing instead to appoint a former member of the Trudeau Foundation to conduct an investigation. Can we really trust the Trudeau Foundation, which has already received $140,000 from Beijing? All Trudeau Foundation board members resigned because of problems with that donation. The Prime Minister has appointed two people to investigate foreign interference, two people out of 40 million Canadians. According to the Prime Minister, no one in Canada was qualified to conduct this investigation except members of the Trudeau Foundation, which is funded by Beijing and with which the Trudeau family continues to have ties. Is there no one else capable of conducting this investigation in a country like ours? Of course there is, and that is why we need a public inquiry.
The Prime Minister voted against closing Chinese police stations. If the United States' FBI opened police stations in Canada, Canadians would be outraged, and rightfully so. It is unacceptable for another country, no matter the country, whether it is one of our allies or one of our enemies, to have a police station here. By definition, a sovereign country has the sole authority to use force legitimately and legally on its territory. Police stations must be managed by our system, by our governments elected by Canadians. We want to close Beijing's police stations and we want to do it now.
The primary responsibility of a prime minister is to defend his citizens against foreign threats. That is even more important than the economy and all other issues. Protecting our country and its citizens against foreign threats is the primary responsibility. What we are learning is that the Prime Minister did nothing to protect us. He does not want to do anything. It has been six months since Canada learned of these threats. The Prime Minister has done absolutely nothing to protect us and is incapable of doing so. We need a new government that will protect us, that will make Canadians the priority. That is just plain common sense, and that is exactly what I will do as prime minister of Canada.
Before I begin my remarks in English, I want to acknowledge the total hell that the hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills has suffered. I cannot imagine receiving a phone call from a journalist late one night to find out that family members on the other side of the world have been threatened for two years and that my own government knew about it, said nothing to me nor did anything to protect my family, and, worse still, allowed the perpetrator of these threats to remain in Canada and have immunity from our laws all of that time. It must have been the worst phone call he has ever received, but I have to say that the member dealt with this incredible hardship with grace, dignity and honour. All of us, and all Canadians, stand with him four-square.
What has the Prime Minister learned? Apparently, he has learned nothing. He finally kicked out the operative from Beijing, after two years of knowing about this. CSIS informed the Prime Minister's national security adviser in July 2021, two years ago. He did absolutely nothing. It was not until the media found out that he responded at all, and even then he said he was too afraid to kick this agent out.
This agent not only went after a member of the House, but also, sadly, may have targeted countless other families. The member in question told me, and I think he would not mind if I shared, that what bothers him most is that, while he has the floor of the House of Commons in order to raise these threats, many thousands of other patriotic Canadians of Chinese origin have faced exactly the same intimidation and threats. We hear the stories of members of Parliament, and some who were defeated, who knocked on doors only to have these Canadians in tears, asking them to go into the backyard and leave the telephones at the front of the house so that they could quietly relay the stories of the threats and intimidation they have received: knocks on the door from Beijing's agents and visits to family members who live in China itself, with veiled, and sometimes overt, threats that were not acted upon by the Canadian government.
Meanwhile, there have been foreign police stations on our soil. If the FBI opened police stations in Canada, there would be thousands of people out to protest them. It would be seen as a massive attack by our American friends on our own sovereignty. Are we are expected to accept it when it is by a hostile foreign dictatorship? Can anyone imagine a prime minister ceding law enforcement powers to a foreign dictatorship? The Prime Minister can claim he is offended by all this, but he has been briefed and has known about it for years, and he has done nothing except having his public safety minister go out and claim there is nothing to worry about and that the police stations were all closed. We find out now that this was false. At least two stations are up and running, and they have not even been visited by Canadian law enforcement authorities. How many other police stations are out there? How many other aggressive foreign operatives are harassing good, solid Canadian people? We need an answer to that question.
Why is it that the Prime Minister refuses to take action? Is it because he still admires the basic Chinese Communist dictatorship, as he so famously said? Is it because, as he said, he admired Fidel Castro? Is it because the dictatorship in Beijing gave $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation? Is it because he now knows that Beijing interfered in two consecutive elections to help him win, and he is just as happy as a clam to have them interfere one more time to give him an advantage? Is he prepared to put his own electoral interests above our national security? Is that how bad it has become?
We know that he has voted against, in our recent Conservative motion, the creation of a foreign influence registry, which exists in the United States and Australia. It is necessary to register if one wants to lobby for the food bank; why should someone not have to make themselves know if they are taking paid interests from foreign dictatorships to manipulate Canadian politics today? It is just common sense, and that is why we want to bring it home. This would not apply to any particular race, group or nationality of Canadians; it would apply exclusively to people of any race who take financial payment from a foreign dictatorship, and that is something that can be done in a manner that is respectful of human rights.
The Prime Minister knows that, but he does not want the truth to come out. He voted against a public inquiry, instead relying on two former members of the Trudeau Foundation, a foundation that received $140,000 from Beijing, to do all of the so-called investigating. Out of 40 million people, he expects us to believe the only two people in all of Canada qualified to look into this matter are members of the Trudeau Foundation. That is not credible, especially when it was his own brother who facilitated the donation coming from Beijing.
The Prime Minister voted against closing the foreign police stations. Closing those stations was part of the Conservative motion that he and the Liberal Party voted against, and the Liberal Party voted against kicking out all the operatives who have been attacking our people. The Prime Minister has one principal, primordial responsibility, which is to protect the Canadian people and their democracy. He has put that job aside for the priorities, either ideological or financial, that are driving him in the other direction.
Conservatives, however, will not let up. We will continue to fight to close these foreign police stations. We will stand up against foreign interference in our elections. We will push for stronger laws to detect and prevent future interference in election campaigns. We will continue to call for, and, eventually, when I am prime minister, bring into place a full public inquiry so we can get to the truth in this scandal. We will, every day in every way, call for and demand the end to anyone who has been involved in setting up police stations on behalf of a foreign government. This is the least we can do. Remember that we will bring home control of our democracy, back to Canadians, not to any foreign government. We will bring home security to our country by removing Iran's, Beijing's or any other foreign regime's operatives who are harassing our people on the ground.
Let us make no mistake, as we go forward and do this work: We are not doing this on behalf a group of people who are simply members of some diaspora. Chinese Canadians are Canadians. Iranian Canadians are Canadians. They are good people, and I want to say to them that we are their allies in defending the reason they came here. I know why they came here; it is because they wanted to work hard, to contribute to this country and to be free from censorship and oppression. They wanted to live their lives and build their dreams, and they should have every right to do that. They are our people. They are part of our home. This is our land. This is our democracy. Let us bring it home for them and for everyone. I thank them very much for standing here as Canadians. We stand with them too.
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- May/8/23 6:33:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, foreign interference is something that is not new. The leader of the Conservative Party is very much aware of that, because, after all, he was the minister responsible for democratic reform and he, in fact, had the opportunity to deal with foreign interference. The former prime minister, Stephen Harper, chose to do nothing, like the current leader.
Would the leader of the Conservative Party not recognize that, in 2022 alone, there were 49 briefings provided to members of Parliament? That is not to mention how many would have happened before. In order for us to deal with this, we should actually be trying to depoliticize the tactics the Conservatives have been using for well over a week now. Does he not believe that would be in the interest of Canadians? It is time to stop politicizing the issue to the degree to which the Conservative Party of Canada is doing that today.
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- May/8/23 6:34:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I do not know what he would have had us do when we learned that a member of Parliament had been targeted with threats against his family by a foreign dictatorship. Would he have had us just stay silent? Would he have had us just sit on our hands? Would he have had us praise the Prime Minister for having done absolutely nothing about it? Would he have had us just take the word of the Prime Minister that he knew nothing, despite all the now publicly available evidence?
We did not politicize it. We stood up for a member of Parliament whose family had been targeted. What is politicization is the fact that the Prime Minister has known about this and other interference and did absolutely nothing about it because he thought it was in his electoral interest to keep it going.
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- May/8/23 6:35:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I share the Leader of the Opposition's concerns. In fact, that is why, earlier this year, I went to meet with professors and researchers at the Université de Sherbrooke who specialize in cybercrime issues. They were eager to talk to me and share their concerns.
They shared the results of their research with me. They clearly demonstrated and explained how far behind we are here in Canada. The member mentioned Australia. The researchers told me about the European Union and certain countries in Europe. We are really behind.
By not acting on this issue, what message does that send about the weakness of our foreign policy? How is it that there are some, Liberal and Conservative alike, who have known this has been going on for 40 years and have done nothing about it?
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- May/8/23 6:36:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Beijing sees the government's inaction as a major vulnerability. According to the intelligence service, Beijing sees Canada as a country that is very vulnerable to its interference because the government does not want to do anything to prevent such interference.
For example, a foreign agent registry is a tool that exists in the United States and Australia but that does not exist here in Canada. The intelligence service pointed out that, in Beijing's eyes, we are uniquely vulnerable to interference because we do not have that tool to protect us.
That is why the Conservative Party called for such a registry during the last election. We will continue to call for one and to exert pressure to make that happen.
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- May/8/23 6:37:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, earlier today in question period, my colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby asked the government if there are any other MPs that it was aware of who may have had threats made against thems or their families and who had not been briefed. My impression was that we did not get a straight answer to what I thought was a very straightforward question. I wonder what the leader of the Conservative Party thinks about that, and whether he heard an answer where I could not.
I am also curious about his thoughts about the Liberals' saying that this should not be a partisan circus. I totally agree with that, but I think the answer to that problem is to have a full public inquiry, to convene that quickly and to ensure that members across party lines are comfortable with the person heading that public inquiry. I invite him to reflect on that as well.
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- May/8/23 6:38:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree. In fact, had the government already launched an independent commission of inquiry, we could depoliticize this issue. We need to do that. It would make it possible to have a judge who is respected by all parties in the House rather than simply having another member of the Liberal club. We need someone who has the respect of the NDP, the Bloc Québécois, the Conservatives and the Liberals.
That way, we could have an open process where people would be compelled to testify truthfully. That way, we could get to the truth. That is why we will continue to call for that. It was in our motion, and that is why we will continue to exert pressure to make that happen.
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- May/8/23 6:39:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the 2019 annual report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians recommended that the government develop a comprehensive strategy to counter foreign interference and build institutional and public resilience.
Why has the government been so negligent in its responsibilities, in its fundamental duties, to protect Canadians?
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- May/8/23 6:39:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that could be because the Prime Minister admires the basic Chinese Communist dictatorship. He has also said words of praise about former dictator Fidel Castro. It could be because Beijing donated $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation. It could be that Beijing helped in two consecutive elections and he is just fine with it interfering once again. What is most disgraceful is the fact that he has made our Chinese population, the people in this country, vulnerable to this foreign threat.
The data shows that, in the 2021 election, it was not that Canadians of Chinese origin went en masse to vote for the Liberal Party; it is that, in communities with large Chinese populations, there was a massive drop in the number of people who actually voted. That is because they were intimidated and threatened about what would happen if they went out and cast their ballot.
Can members imagine that, in Canada, where we have the constitutional right to vote, some people thought that they or their family would be in danger if that vote went ahead, and that their Prime Minister found out about that in briefing after briefing and sat there and did nothing, perhaps because he was the beneficiary of it? It is disgraceful, and it demonstrates why we need a new government that will stand up for our home and native land.
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