Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Leader, when the recent reports of Beijing’s interference in our elections emerged, the Prime Minister did not treat them with the seriousness that they deserved. First, he blamed the whistle-blower. Then, he said the allegations were inaccurate, but he wouldn’t say why. He then went on to label legitimate questions as racism. After that, he had backbench Liberal MPs walk out and filibuster at committee for three weeks. Then, he appointed an old family friend and Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation member as a made-up special rapporteur.

Leader, the budget contained almost $50 million for the RCMP to counter foreign interference and protect Canadians from this harassment. How did the Prime Minister go from dismissing these reports to giving them an entire section in his budget in just a few short weeks?