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Hon. Bill Blair

Member of Parliament
Minister of National Defence
Liberal

Scarborough Southwest
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 63%
Expenses Last Quarter: $115,019.32

Government Page

Context: House Hansard - 116 - Oct/24/22

Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/24/22 2:43:46 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, in these circumstances, it is apparent that the member opposite's reach exceeds his grasp. The simple truth is that at no time was any direction given by me. Under Canadian law, the RCMP Act, the only person authorized to give direction to the RCMP is the minister of public safety. I held that role at the time. I respected the principle underlying the rule of law that politics will not interfere with police operations. At no time did I give that direction. Those are the facts as I have testified and as the commissioner of the RCMP has confirmed.

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Context: House Hansard - 95 - Jun/23/22

Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Jun/23/22 2:49:01 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I am happy for the opportunity to explain to the member that neither the Prime Minister's Office nor the Minister of Public Safety's office had any role in interfering or pressuring the RCMP to make any operational decisions with respect to the investigation or with respect to RCMP communications around the investigation. We did hear very serious criticism and concern by the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy and by Nova Scotians across the province with respect to the communications that took place during this event and after, and that is precisely why we have tasked the Mass Casualty Commission with looking very specifically at the communications that took place both during and after this event, because those families deserve—

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Context: House Hansard - 95 - Jun/23/22

Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Jun/23/22 2:38:57 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, perhaps it would be helpful if I read the entire statement that the RCMP commissioner issued Tuesday. The commissioner writes: It is important to note that the sharing of information and briefings with the Minister of Public Safety are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting on Canadian soil. This is standard procedure, and does not impact the integrity of ongoing investigations or interfere with the independence of the RCMP. She concludes by stating: I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected in all interactions. There was no interference.

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Context: House Hansard - 94 - Jun/22/22

Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Jun/22/22 2:51:40 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, of course there was no promise, but I will again take members back to the commissioner's statement because I think it speaks for itself. She said: It is important to note that the sharing of information and briefings with the Minister of Public Safety are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting on Canadian soil. This is standard procedure, and does not impact the integrity of ongoing investigations or interfere with the independence of the RCMP. The commissioner concludes with this: “I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected in all interactions.” Those are the facts.

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Context: House Hansard - 94 - Jun/22/22

Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Jun/22/22 2:42:23 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, as I said, I have never had a conversation with the superintendent, but the commissioner who did released a statement, in which she said: It is important to note that the sharing of information and briefings with the Minister of Public Safety are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting on Canadian soil. This is standard procedure. It does not impact the integrity of any ongoing investigation or interfere with the independence of the RCMP. She concluded: I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected in all interactions.

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Context: House Hansard - 94 - Jun/22/22

Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Jun/22/22 2:30:22 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to share with the members opposite the truth. In fact, yesterday, the commissioner of the RCMP released a statement in which she said, and I quote: It is important to note that the sharing of information and briefings with the Minister of Public Safety are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting on Canadian soil. This is standard procedure, and does not impact the integrity of ongoing investigations or interfere with the independence of the RCMP. It is important that she concludes: I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected in all interactions.

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Context: House Hansard - 31 - Feb/15/22

Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Feb/15/22 2:46:21 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is clear. A largely foreign-funded, targeted and coordinated attack on critical Canadian infrastructure at our borders is hurting Canada and harming Canadians. It was equally clear that we needed to do more and would have to do what was required. We have introduced measures that will create greater financial scrutiny and financial consequences for the people who are engaged in this criminal behaviour. The evidence of firearms at Coutts elevates the risk to Canadian security and safety, and we will do what is required to keep Canadians safe.

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Minister of National Defence

Hon. Bill Blair