44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 30, 2023 10:00AM
- May/30/23 11:38:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member is deliberately misleading the House. Pretty well everything he is saying is rubbish. If you, Madam Speaker, would ask him to stop misleading the House, I think that would be appropriate.
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- May/30/23 11:38:32 a.m.
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Again, I would just ask members to be careful in the words they use. However, what the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby rose on is more a point of debate, and I would just say that I would continue with the hon. member's speech. I have ruled on it.
I have another point of order. I will go to the member for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston.
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- May/30/23 11:39:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in his point of order, his intervention, my hon. colleague used language that is impermissible in this place. He has to withdraw it. I request that you request it of him, Madam Speaker, as would be done for any of us.
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- May/30/23 11:40:16 a.m.
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I believe the word used was “deliberate”. That is the word hon. members are taking issue with. Using this word in the House is a very serious matter. It is more a question of privilege that would be used for this. If it was meant more as a point of debate, then I would say that it is not the word to be used.
I would ask the hon. member, first of all, if he would be willing to retract this word.
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- May/30/23 11:40:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, certainly, I respect you, and I will withdraw it.
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- May/30/23 11:41:04 a.m.
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The hon. member for Brantford—Brant.
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- May/30/23 11:41:16 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after the release of the so-called special rapporteur report, the Conservatives were working to get Mr. Johnston to appear before committee to answer on his failure to recommend a public inquiry. Again, the NDP showed its true colours in siding with Liberals and voting together to try to silence the opposition and hide the truth from Canadians.
Now, 19 sitting days before the summer break, the New Democrats are trying to save what is left of their political legacy by presenting a motion that would once again recommend that the government do things differently. They will then vote blindly against their very own motion. It is hypocrisy at its finest.
Foreign operatives should never be permitted to intimidate and harass Canadian people on Canadian soil, as the government has allowed them to do for several years. Rather than following the response of our neighbours across the border, who promptly shut down these police stations and charged those responsible, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Safety instead chose to spend their energy on misleading Canadians.
First, the minister said that the stations were all shut down; we then found out that they were still in operation in Montreal. Now, most recently, the minister comes clean and admits that there may be more illegal police stations run by Beijing across this country. To make matters worse, we have now learned that the government has been providing taxpayer funding to these groups, which are designed to implode our democracy. As reported by the National Post, Centre Sino-Québec is “one of two Quebec organizations ... under RCMP investigation for allegedly hosting a secret Chinese police station”, and it was given nearly $160,000 worth of funds.
The solution is not difficult. It is very simple. It is to shut down all these police stations and create and implement a foreign influence registry to protect Canadians now. Canadians have no idea what to believe at this point. Who can blame them? Thus, it is imperative to have an open and honest public inquiry on foreign interference in this country to give citizens the answers they so need and deserve.
Unfortunately, we all know very well that the government's lack of action did not stop there. Rather, the Prime Minister showed his true colours when he chose to place his partisan interests above the safety of our institutions and of this country by selecting a family friend and member of the Beijing-funded Trudeau Foundation. He knowingly appointed a ski buddy, a cottage neighbour and a member of the Beijing-funded foundation to a fake job intended to legitimize the Liberal cover-up.
As well stated by Canada's next prime minister, in a country of 40 million people, the government could not find anyone who did not have connections to the Liberal Party or who had not been on the foundation. That is unbelievable. It is remarkable. We have so many distinguished prominent Canadians with the same credentials as former governor general David Johnston, and they ignored each and every one of those individuals and hand-picked Mr. Johnston for the job.
To make matters worse, while working on the report and during the investigation, Mr. Johnston sought advice from another trusted Liberal adviser, Sheila Block. This is a Liberal supporter who donated thousands of dollars exclusively to the Liberal Party of Canada.
If that were not enough, we have another layer of the cover-up cake. When David Johnston wanted to make sure that he was not in a conflict of interest in judging Beijing's interference in the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, we can guess whose opinion he sought. We have all kinds of retired Supreme Court justices in this country who are still alive, but he had to choose Mr. Frank Iacobucci of the Supreme Court of Canada, a member of the Trudeau Foundation. As a lawyer, I am absolutely gobsmacked and astounded that they cannot see this runaway freight train called “the conflict of interest” running smack dab into the middle of the heart of the current Liberal government.
It is not only a pure, active conflict of interest. It is the appearance of such an interest. Any lawyer who goes into court knows that many judges have completely recused themselves on the lower grounds of not doing anything that might compromise the integrity of the process. This process has been substantially compromised by the actions of David Johnston, the Prime Minister and his government.
In conclusion, sunshine is the best disinfectant, per CSIS. Let the public see. Let us let the public be the judge. Let us call a public inquiry. If NDP members really want to prove that they support a public inquiry, they must tell the Prime Minister that they will pull out of their coalition agreement if he does not call one. Stand up for Canadians, NDP.
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- May/30/23 11:47:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is the New Democrats who are bringing forth this motion today, and we are standing up for Canadians.
Before I get started on my question, I first want to congratulate the Alberta NDP for winning every seat in Edmonton yesterday and the majority of seats in Calgary. Well done. It will be the most powerful opposition in Alberta history—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/30/23 11:47:52 a.m.
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Order. I cannot hear the hon. member speak. I would ask members, if they have questions and comments, to please wait. One of the Conservative members will be answering, and I know that he has the ability to do that. I would ask individuals to please not speak out of turn.
The hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni can start from the top.
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- May/30/23 11:48:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, again, congratulations to Edmonton and Calgary.
The Conservatives are really flinging mud—
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- May/30/23 11:48:24 a.m.
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We have a point of order from the hon. member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies.
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- May/30/23 11:48:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I just feel it is important to correct the record. It is actually the Conservatives who won—
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- May/30/23 11:48:32 a.m.
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That is not a point of order. It is a point of debate.
The hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni.
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- May/30/23 11:48:38 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I just want to correct my colleague. The Alberta NDP won every seat in Edmonton and the majority of seats in Calgary.
We know the Conservatives are more interested in flinging mud than looking for a solution. This is a matter of foreign interference, not just Chinese interference. Russia and Iran are also carrying out major covert operations. We only have to look at the United States in 2016 for evidence of that, or to reports of the Russian financing of the “freedom convoy” in Ottawa in 2022, which we know the Conservatives supported. Singling out the Chinese has had a huge impact on the diaspora here in Canada.
Do the Conservatives agree with Canadians that we should be investigating all foreign interference in elections? Also, do they agree that we need to deal with foreign interference before we go into another election, not after?
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- May/30/23 11:49:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague's question had many layers to it, so I will try my best to respond.
Perhaps he is not aware that for the past year and a half, I was a sitting member of the standing joint committee reviewing the Emergencies Act declaration. I would encourage my colleague to confer with his colleague, the member for Hamilton Centre, an NDP colleague, who will easily debunk everything the member had to say about the element of Russian interference with respect to funding. Experts who testified at committee completely debunked that particular narrative. That was shared with the House numerous times, so I would recommend that he talk to his colleague.
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- May/30/23 11:50:40 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is somewhat disappointing to see the shameful behaviour of the members opposite when they undertake personal character assassinations of someone as distinguished as David Johnston. It is important to recognize that David Johnston was in fact a Stephen Harper appointment. To get a sense of the integrity of Mr. Johnston, I would suggest they read what Mr. Harper had to say about him. To get an even better sense of that, all they have to do is read what David Christopherson said at the PROC committee. Unfortunately, what we are witnessing is the shameful behaviour of character assassination against a distinguished Canadian. I say shame on the members opposite who are choosing to take this course.
My question to the member is this. Where was the Conservative Party when there was foreign interference being applied here in Canada while Stephen Harper and the Leader of the Conservative Party had the reins of power? It was nowhere.
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- May/30/23 11:51:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, David Johnston sacrificed himself and his reputation to preserve the reputation and career of the Prime Minister. He is not the first friend of the Prime Minister who has sacrificed his reputation to preserve the reputation of the Prime Minister and the government, and he will probably not be the last.
Let us all remember our former attorney general and minister of justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould. Let us remember our former minister of health, Jane Philpott. Let us remember our former minister of finance, Bill Morneau. According to the government, just “random Liberals” are all they are. They were not senior ministers but random Liberals, and to—
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- May/30/23 11:52:31 a.m.
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There is a point of order from the hon. member for Repentigny.
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- May/30/23 11:52:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, there seems to be a problem with the interpretation. When the member speaks, we hear a crackling noise on the line, which is making the interpreters' task more difficult. There may be a cellphone causing interference.
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- May/30/23 11:52:59 a.m.
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I have asked this before of members. Please ensure that cellphones are not sitting on desks, because they create interference with interpretation.
The hon. member for Brantford—Brant has the floor.
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