44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 31, 2023 02:00PM
- May/31/23 2:25:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, the RCMP has been tasked with conducting the necessary investigations and laying charges in due course against those attempting to interfere in our democracy. If the Leader of the Opposition is so curious about the details of foreign interference, then he should accept the briefing that has been offered to him by the intelligence services. Then he would no longer not know the details and he could learn about the serious issue of foreign interference. I encourage the Leader of the Opposition to get informed.
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- May/31/23 2:27:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as Canadians well know, the government takes extremely seriously the issue of foreign interference and has done so since 2015, when we brought in significant measures to counter foreign interference. We continue to do so. The RCMP is quite rightly charged with the responsibility for investigating and following up on these reports of Beijing-funded police stations but, indeed, if the Leader of the Opposition is so—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/31/23 2:28:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition continues to have questions on foreign interference, as many Canadians do, I would suggest that he actually take our security agencies up on the offer they have made to him of being briefed on all the intelligence related to foreign interference. That way, he does not have to hide behind, to quote the report on this, “a veil of ignorance”, and he can actually work from the facts.
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- May/31/23 2:33:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like the Conservative Party leader, the leader of the Bloc Québécois would rather hide behind a veil of ignorance than understand the impact of the situation.
Obviously, he is just playing partisan games. We take the matter of foreign interference seriously and we hope that others will too.
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- May/31/23 2:34:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Dan Stanton, a former CSIS counter-intelligence officer, testified in committee. He said that a public inquiry into foreign interference is necessary. He, like many Canadians, is wondering what is going on. He said very clearly that there are safeguards that can be put in place to protect sensitive information. I agree with Mr. Stanton.
Will the Prime Minister do the right thing? Will he listen to Canadians, listen to this House and listen to a former CSIS counter-intelligence officer and vote in favour of our motion calling for a public inquiry?
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- May/31/23 2:36:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, foreign interference is an extremely serious, fundamental issue for our democracy and our institutions.
That is why we implemented a number of measures, including committees of parliamentarians, expert committees, such as the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, a process during the election campaign and an independent expert responsible for assessing everything that we are doing and making recommendations. He found that the 2019 and 2021 elections were not compromised and he will continue his work.
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- May/31/23 2:49:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois just said “we already know more than enough”, but the reality is that he does not know because he refused to receive briefings on confidential intelligence that has been gathered by our security intelligence services. He refuses to hear the facts at the heart of the matter of Chinese interference so that he can continue his personal and partisan attacks and his bickering.
All Canadians, including Quebeckers, deserve representatives that take the issue of foreign interference seriously. That is what we are doing.
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- May/31/23 3:07:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work with all colleagues in the House to fight foreign interference and to take it seriously.
To take it seriously, the leader of the Bloc Québécois need only demonstrate that he is open to understanding the impact of the issue, to see the intelligence that was collected about what happened. He has refused. He prefers to hide from the truth to continue his bickering and partisan attacks.
That is not a responsible approach worthy of our democracy. I encourage him to take part in the necessary briefings.
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- May/31/23 4:20:22 p.m.
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I am now prepared to rule on the question of privilege raised yesterday by the member for Durham. I would like to thank the member for having raised this matter.
In his intervention, the member alleged having been a victim of an ongoing campaign of foreign interference, orchestrated by officials and agents of the People's Republic of China and dating as far back as the previous Parliament. He added that this campaign was not related to the one single event, which made his question of privilege distinct from the one raised by the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. He also indicated that interference of this scale had violated not only his privileges, but also those of many more members of the House.
I am hearing some noise, I am not sure if it is coming from the outside or inside. I am going to ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to maybe just take a walk around the hall. I am sure there is nothing intentional there, but we just want to make people aware that if they are speaking on the outside, it echoes into the chamber.
The member for Rosemont—La Petite Patrie, supporting the member for Durham's assertions, suggested that the matter either be found prima facie or be integrated into the current study of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
The House has the right to the services of its members free from intimidation, obstruction and interference. The Chair takes any claim of foreign interference in the work of members, as well as its impacts on their families, very seriously.
This is why I ruled on May 8, 2023, that a similar matter raised by the member for Wellington—Halton Hills constituted a prima facie question of privilege. At that time, the Chair agreed that the matter of a foreign entity trying to intervene in the conduct of our proceedings, targeting members and their relatives, touches upon the privileges and immunities that underpin our collective ability to carry out our parliamentary duties unimpeded.
The member for Wellington—Halton Hills subsequently moved a motion to refer the matter of the intimidation campaign orchestrated by Wei Zhao against him and other members to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. The motion was adopted by the House on May 10, 2023. Though the motion related to the actions of one specific individual, the Chair's ruling referred more broadly to a foreign entity.
The points raised by the member for Durham are extremely serious. While I agree they must properly be addressed, in considering a question of privilege, the Chair must determine whether it should take precedence over the business of the House. Given that the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs has already been instructed to investigate the matter of foreign interference, the Chair believes that it is the appropriate forum for further discussion of this issue.
As such, I invite the member, and any other member impacted, to make representations to the committee over the course of its study.
I thank members for their attention.
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