44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 12, 2023 10:00AM
- May/12/23 11:32:07 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every year, Canadians of all stripes travel to France to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice at Vimy Ridge. I myself have made that trip to a place where Canada defined itself as a nation and a place that unites us all. That is why everyone was stunned, including veterans like me, that the government has decided that it needs to wipe it and other important symbols that define our nation from the new passport design. When will this minister reverse course and stop trying to erase Canadian history?
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- May/12/23 11:32:43 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important that we understand the history and what took place when my hon. colleague's party was in power. In fact, it slashed 1,000 employees from Veterans Affairs. It slashed funding to Veterans Affairs. It slashed funding to commemorative programs. It slashed 17% from the commemorative program, which includes Vimy Ridge. I was at Vimy Ridge a few weeks ago and I announced $12 million to make sure that the commemorative program continues as it should. We have respected and always will respect veterans and make sure we attend to our veterans as properly as we possibly can.
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- May/12/23 11:33:25 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was this Prime Minister who said veterans were asking for too much. The legion membership was disappointed, saying, “Removing that image was...a poor decision.”
The Vimy Foundation, whose mission is to teach Canadians' shared history, said its members were disappointed, especially with the decision coming just a month after the the 106th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Was the Minister of Veterans Affairs consulted on this change? Is he okay with his government's trying to erase the memory and sacrifices of Canadian veterans?
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- May/12/23 11:34:00 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is this Prime Minister who decided we would reverse the track that the previous government was on in slashing veterans funds, closing veterans offices right across the country and slashing funds to commemorative programs in Europe. We have and this government has put $2 billion extra per year in the pockets of veterans. We have to make sure that we treat veterans properly because that is why we are able to say what we like in this House. We have supported and will continue to support veterans.
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- May/12/23 11:34:37 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is once again giving itself every right to do whatever it pleases, this time by having the nerve to erase symbols that Canadians hold dear from the newest version of the Canadian passport.
Instead of respecting the men and women who fought for our freedom, why is the government opposite attacking them by sacrificing the images that represent freedom for thousands of Canadians?
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- May/12/23 11:35:07 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, do we know what Conservatives are good at? They are good at pitting Canadians against each other through fear and divisive rhetoric.
We are updating the Canadian passport to protect Canadians against fraud, but the Conservatives are good at turning this issue into a cultural war. They are trying to bring a Trump-style war to Canada. We will not be swayed. We will continue to help our veterans, just as the minister said. Symbols will always be respected in Canada.
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- May/12/23 11:35:43 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's chosen design, which replaces historical symbols with heritage illustrations, is unacceptable. It is an affront and profoundly disrespectful to veterans.
Could the government show some respect and good judgment and reconsider the so-called modern design of future Canadian passports?
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- May/12/23 11:36:15 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we are all keenly aware, a Canadian passport is one of the most reliable travel documents around. We can celebrate our history here in the House and across Canada in lots of ways, and we can also ensure that our passports are secure.
I think we might be losing sight of the main objective. Our passports have to be secure, which is exactly the task we set out to accomplish. We will keep commemorating Canada's history without compromising the safety and security of Canadian travellers.
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- May/12/23 11:36:55 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claims that he was unaware of the threats against the member for Wellington—Halton Hills in 2021. No one believes that, but let us say that it is true.
This morning, The Globe and Mail reported that CSIS had a file as thick as a brick against the expelled Chinese diplomat: taking of photographs, tracking dissidents for the Chinese regime, interfering with the staff of Liberal ministers to distance them from pro-Taiwan movements.
According to the paper, Global Affairs Canada and the Prime Minister's Office knew all that since 2020. Why did they wait until Monday to expel this diplomat?
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- May/12/23 11:37:31 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course we are taking the issue of foreign interference very seriously. Of course we will never accept any form of foreign interference in our democracy.
That is why, after much reflection and evaluation of all the different potential consequences, we decided to take action based on principle and pragmatism. After summoning the ambassador, we decided to expel the Chinese diplomat in question and that was the right decision.
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- May/12/23 11:38:11 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure that the member for Wellington—Halton Hills is reassured.
The Liberals are once again asking us to not only believe that they knew nothing about the threats against the member for Wellington—Halton Hills in 2021, but also that they were not aware of the diplomat's other reprehensible actions, which were known about since 2020. We are even supposed to believe that the Liberals were not aware that CSIS had had the diplomat under close surveillance since 2019.
To be blunt, the Liberals have been exposed. They obviously do not want to shed light on or take action against Chinese interference. When will they launch an independent public commission of inquiry?
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- May/12/23 11:38:46 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if my colleague has been following everything that has been done on this file over the past few weeks, then he knows very well that a special rapporteur has been appointed, former governor general David Johnston. He is doing his work and we are going to let him do that. He will make his recommendations shortly.
The Minister of Public Safety is following this file very closely. Given the facts that have come to light, we decided to declare the diplomat in question persona non grata. That was the right decision.
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- May/12/23 11:39:21 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for three years, the current government knew that a diplomat in Beijing's Toronto consulate was spying on Chinese Canadians and sending information back to Beijing's secret police. At the same time, the government knew that the very same diplomat was targeting a sitting member of Parliament and for three long years it did nothing.
Either the current Prime Minister is grossly incompetent or he just does not care about protecting Chinese Canadians from Beijing. Which is it?
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- May/12/23 11:39:56 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when a foreign government comes at one of us, it comes at all of us.
While Conservatives try to politicize and play partisan games, we are taking real action to keep Canadians safe. We have a government here that cares, a government that looks out for our Canadian values with empathy. We want to ensure that all members of Parliament move forward, working together with our families, friends or neighbours facing those very values.
In conclusion, I would say this to the members opposite: Let us all consider our responsibility to our citizenship versus our responsibility to our politics.
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- May/12/23 11:40:37 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that answer is an insult to Chinese Canadians. This government expelled one Beijing diplomat after they got caught doing nothing.
It gets worse. According to national security sources, CSIS has provided this government with a list of other Beijing diplomats identified for expulsion because of the threat they pose to Chinese Canadians.
How many names are on that list?
How many more warnings from CSIS is this government ignoring?
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- May/12/23 11:41:08 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we take the issues of foreign interference extremely seriously.
In fact, we took this issue so seriously that we started implementing measures as soon as we took office, something I would like to remind Canadians that Conservatives never did.
The Leader of the Opposition said, and members want to heckle because they do not want to hear the fact that the Leader of the Opposition actually admitted this, that when he was the democratic minister, he actually did not do anything to deal with foreign interference because he did not think it was in his political interest.
We do not believe in that. We are going to take action to protect our democracy.
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- May/12/23 11:41:48 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that the foreign affairs minister is too embarrassed to answer these questions.
We have learned that Beijing diplomat Wei Zhao has been under intense CSIS surveillance for three years. We know he was targeting a member of Parliament two years ago. It took a front-page story in The Globe and Mail for the government to finally act by expelling the diplomat this week.
What else have we learned? We have learned that her department has known about it since 2020.
Why did the Prime Minister allow this agent to operate in Canada under diplomatic cover for three years? How many Canadians were victimized?
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- May/12/23 11:42:24 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think my colleague forgot to pay attention yesterday and listen to what was happening in committee.
Jenni Byrne, Pierre Poilievre's chief strategist, his confidante, the person who thinks of everything necessary—
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- May/12/23 11:42:41 a.m.
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I want to remind members that we cannot mention the names of members in the House.
The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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- May/12/23 11:42:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, allow me to repeat that. Jenni Byrne, the official opposition leader's chief strategist, his confidante, the person he trusts, told the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday that when the official opposition leader was minister of democratic institutions, he did nothing about foreign interference.
We are not going to take any lessons from our Conservative colleagues, and we are going to be there to act in the interests of Canadians.
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