44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 9, 2023 10:00AM
- May/9/23 11:02:57 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, when it comes to foreign interference, it is really important to recognize, as I have, that foreign interference has been taking place for many years, even when Stephen Harper was there. Stephen Harper was aware of it.
How does the member justify the secretive trade agreement or Stephen Harper doing nothing? The Prime Minister found out about this last week for the very first time. Within a week, that diplomat was asked to leave the country.
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- May/9/23 2:20:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party knows full well that the police in this country operate independently. They are expected to do their job to keep Canadians safe, and they will continue to do that.
The member is suggesting that we have done nothing about foreign interference. We have appointed former governor general David Johnston as an independent special rapporteur to follow up. We are establishing a foreign influence registry. We are defending the proper functioning of the House by expelling a Chinese diplomat, and we will continue to work to protect Canadians.
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- May/9/23 2:21:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is being disingenuous. She knows full well that we are moving forward on establishing a foreign agent registry. We are doing it properly so that it actually responds to the needs of Canadians.
We will continue to ensure that we are standing up for our values, taking seriously these issues, which is why we did take the time to ensure, as we declared a Chinese diplomat persona non grata, that it was done appropriately.
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- May/9/23 2:27:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, we have always taken threats to Canadians around foreign interference extremely seriously, which is why we have created new mechanisms and new tools to counter foreign interference. It is why we have actually appointed an independent expert to look at the foreign interference landscape and to ensure that we have all the tools we need and to create more, including a public inquiry if necessary.
We will follow the advice of the independent expert. The expert is the one who is best placed to say how we move forward.
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- May/9/23 2:28:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me help the Prime Minister. It is necessary. We need it.
Foreign interference has a real impact on people's lives. It has a real impact on the Chinese community and on several communities in Canada. Imagine what it must be like for families fleeing repressive governments. They come to Canada and the threats—
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- May/9/23 2:29:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague points out, the diasporas, whether the Chinese Canadian, the Iranian Canadian, Russian Canadian or Indo-Canadian communities, are often the first communities to be targeted by foreign interference.
That is why we have brought in measures to protect them. We will continue to work with them, not just to protect them from interference, but also to protect them from the unfortunate racism and discrimination they face from the public when they are suspected of being foreign agents. It is a problem we will continue to address.
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- May/9/23 2:36:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is saying that it is taking action. Taking action gets results, but to date, the government's score on foreign interference is 25%. That would not be a very good mark to get on a report card. Why?
The Liberals finally expelled a diplomat after two years, but they have done nothing to create a foreign agent registry, to conduct a independent national inquiry or to shut down the Chinese police stations.
Every time we ask them questions, they fail miserably at protecting Canadians. Our question to them is, why?
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- May/9/23 3:14:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise on this issue. We are in incredibly challenging times. There is no doubt that, whether they are from Russia or China, foreign actors have the intent—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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