Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Government leader, in December 2021, Prime Minister Trudeau appointed Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate). According to the Library of Parliament, Mr. Gerretsen is the only parliamentary secretary in Canadian history to hold this title. I’m not entirely sure what this parliamentary secretary does to assist you in your work; I don’t think he helps you prepare answers to our questions. I do know, however, that last week he made false claims about the information provided to Michael Chong about Beijing’s threats against him and his family.

Leader, last year, you told this chamber the following:

Disinformation, in its various forms, is a really serious threat to our society, to our democracy and to all Canadians.

Given these words, do you agree with the false claims made in the other place by your parliamentary secretary?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): I am not in a position to comment on the claims to which you are referring. However, I can tell you that Mr. Gerretsen is someone with whom I meet regularly, and who, indeed, is serving as the parliamentary secretary, as well as serving Minister Holland in an exemplary fashion and providing an additional link between the government and our office, which we use in our work.