SoVote

Mr. Warren Steinley (Regina—Lewvan, CPC)

Oct/3/23 5:27:06 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-56

Madam Speaker, I heard the member talk about palling around and burning fossil fuels. In 2020, the member took a trip to Washington on sponsored travel, when most Canadians could not travel. In 2022, the member took a trip to Germany and burned fossil fuels worth $10,489. He talked about palling around with Pierre Elliott Trudeau. On this trip to Germany, he palled around with a group that actually did a joint press conference with Hezbollah, which is now a terrorist organization. Can he explain to his constituents why he is palling around with Hezbollah terrorists?

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Context: House Hansard - 228 - Oct/3/23

Mr. Michael Barrett (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC)

Oct/3/23 6:30:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians have seen a very tumultuous year when they look at the cornerstone of our democratic system, Canada's Parliament. I found myself going back over the questions that I had put to the government that needed more exposition, further review and another opportunity for the government to answer. I was speaking with two great members of our team: Leah Young and Jordan Johnston. They do a great job. They are great Canadians. We were a little disappointed when we looked at the series of issues that Canadians had to witness in the news on a daily basis with respect to foreign interference and with respect to a failure to act by the government to address the real and present threats that our country has faced. The question of the Trudeau Foundation and the foreign influence operation that targeted the Prime Minister through the foundation that bears his family's name is incredibly concerning. It gave rise, of course, to calls and demonstrated the necessity for Canada to have a foreign agent registry. This is a tool that is used by our allies and it is very effective, but there is no tool like it in Canada's tool box right now. What happened in this particular case? We saw cut-outs acting on behalf of the dictatorship in Beijing give $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation in an attempt to influence or gain influence with Canada's Prime Minister. This is obviously incredibly concerning. What we saw in that same time period were two occasions where these individuals acting on behalf of the dictatorship in Beijing did get access to the Prime Minister, raising a question for Canadians: Is that the price it is going to cost foreign regimes to get access to our head of government? The individuals pulled in the Prime Minister's brother. It was the first time in his involvement with that foundation that he was directly linked to donor activity like this, taking in this large six-figure donation. The question about whether or not the influence was effective and whether or not this operation by a foreign government was effective is what undermines Canadians' confidence and creates concern about the health of our democratic institutions. Therefore, Canadians want to know this from the government, and I am looking to the parliamentary secretary for a response: On what date can Canadians expect to see the foreign agent registry, which is one of the critical tools necessary to help restore Canadians' confidence in our democratic institutions?

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Context: House Hansard - 228 - Oct/3/23

Ms. Jennifer O'Connell (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs (Cybersecurity), Lib.)

Oct/3/23 6:34:27 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I am glad to have the opportunity today to, for the sake of accuracy, remind the House of a few things in response to the hon. member's question. First, I want to point out that the agreement for the donation in question, to the Trudeau Foundation, which he raises, was made in 2014, prior to the 2015 election. Let us remember that at that time, the Liberals were the third party in standing. Second, I will remind my hon. colleague of Mr. Alexandre Trudeau's testimony at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics on May 3 of this year, in which he stated: I must insist that there was no foreign interference, no possibility of interference and no intention or means of interference at or through the Trudeau Foundation. No state or individual ever attempted to influence the Canadian government through the foundation. We know that foreign interference and attempts by foreign actors to influence Canada's democracy are not new phenomena. That is why combatting potential threats to our democratic systems has been at the heart of our government's priorities, and we have maintained a clear and ongoing commitment to protecting Canadians democracy. We are aware that threat actors have sought to erode trust in our democratic institutions and stoke tensions about government policies and decisions by targeting politicians, political parties and media outlets. Threat actors do this to influence public opinion and ultimately advance their interests, and that is why our security and intelligence agencies continue to support an integrated government response to those threats. Every day, Canada's security agencies, including the RCMP, undertake the work Canadians expect of them in order to ensure continued protection of Canadians and our democracy. Attempts to interfere in Canada's domestic affairs should not and will not be tolerated. We will continue to protect our sovereignty and our democracy. On September 7, 2023, the government announced a public inquiry into foreign interference in the federal electoral processes and democratic institutions. This announcement followed extensive consultations and agreements with all political parties represented in the House of Commons. The hon. Justice Marie-Josée Hogue was given a mandate to examine and address foreign interference by China, Russia and other foreign state actors or non-state actors, including any potential impacts on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Justice Hogue is also mandated to assess the capacity of federal entities to detect, deter and counter foreign interference targeting Canada's democratic processes, and to make any recommendations she deems appropriate to better protect Canada's democratic processes from foreign interference. I would like to note that the government has, in addition, announced that it supports, as the member has raised, moving forward with a foreign agent registry.

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