44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 1, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about cybersecurity. This means that there is a lot of foreign interference conducted through cyber-attacks.
Speaking of foreign interference, is my colleague not concerned that, in 2016, after giving a Chinese bank a business licence, the Prime Minister received $70,000 in donations to his riding of Papineau within 48 hours? Is that not interference? In 48 hours, he received donations from outside his riding, specifically from Toronto and British Columbia. Is that not evidence of foreign interference?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for his speech, which was a real voyage of discovery. One moment we were in Hollywood, and the next we were at Tim Hortons.
I will do him one better. I will take us on a journey across the Pacific all the way from China to the riding of Papineau. I worry about interference, as does our colleague, I am sure, because he supports a cybersecurity bill to reduce digital vulnerability.
Is my colleague concerned about the fact that, within the same time period, the federal Liberal association for the Prime Minister's riding of Papineau received donations from China and a Chinese bank got permission to set up shop in Canada?
I have a second question. Does the member believe in chance and coincidence?
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Mr. Speaker, we are talking about Bill C‑26, which deals with national security, and discussions about national security inevitably include the issue of interference from elsewhere, from other countries. Security threats can be internal as well as external.
With respect to external threats, there is a lot of talk right now about the possibility that China interfered in our elections. Earlier, some of our colleagues mentioned that, a few years ago, the Prime Minister received nearly $70,000 in donations immediately after a bank that offers services specifically to Chinese Canadians set up shop in Canada. The donations, which were mostly from people with Chinese names, were made on the same day and within hours of the bank being authorized to open.
Does my colleague find that strange? Is he concerned that there might have been some kind of interference? It is hard to believe that this happened by accident and that it was all just a fluke.
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Madam Speaker, the member is correct that this is not a new issue. That is precisely why I think the government is very late in coming to the table. The issue of foreign interference, which is part of the context of the cyber-threats we face, is also not a new issue. Again, we have been calling for action from the government, but we have not seen other action from it. The member says that the Liberals have done all these other things, such as maybe giving some money over here or over there, but he evidently could not articulate specific measures that the government had taken.
We are behind when it comes to defending our security. We are behind what we should have known much earlier. We are behind our allies. We were the last of the Five Eyes and very late to step up on recognizing the risks associated with Huawei.
When it comes to foreign interference, I will challenge the government on one point: Why has the government not expelled foreign diplomats involved in interference and intimidation in Canada? That would be a simple step and the government has not taken it.
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- Dec/1/22 2:51:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, CSIS advised the Prime Minister in its top secret briefing note that the way to combat foreign interference was through “a policy that is grounded in transparency and sunlight in order to highlight the point that [foreign interference] should be exposed to the public”.
Why are the Prime Minister and the government not heeding this advice? Why are they not going public and telling Canadians exactly which candidates and which riding associations were involved in Beijing's foreign interference?
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- Dec/1/22 2:51:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that we need to take allegations of foreign interference very seriously. That is why we created independent, non-partisan panels to shine a light on the allegations of foreign interference, both of which confirmed that the elections in 2019 and 2021 were free and fair.
We will continue to shine a light on the tools, on the investments, that we are putting in our national security community to protect all our democratic institutions, including elections.
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- Dec/1/22 2:53:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I invite that hon. member to read the NSICOP report that was tabled by a member of her own government, which was, in fact, scathing about the government's failure to respond to the persistent problem of foreign interference.
We know that the Prime Minister's secrecy and refusal to answer basic questions about foreign interference is putting this debate on its back foot. He is putting his personal interest ahead of the national interest by not listening to CSIS on the benefits of sunlight and giving us the information.
Will the Prime Minister answer the question. Has he received briefings or memos on this subject since he last denied it, yes or no?
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- Dec/1/22 2:54:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it seems I have hit a nerve with members opposite.
Let us review the facts. The first is the fact that foreign interference does happen and, as a result, in this country, we have put in place strong measures to strengthen our democracy. The Conservatives seem to just be waking up to this fact now. Foreign interference, due to the strength of our democracy, does not always mean that those attempts work.
When it comes to the work we are doing, like I said, and the member opposite should know, I was a member of NSICOP and am very well aware of the reports. However, they received briefings and they—
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- Dec/1/22 2:55:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we have put in place a number of measures to increase transparency about threats of foreign interference. For example, we have the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, independent bodies that have issued two reports confirming that the 2019 and 2021 elections were free and fair. We will improve transparency because it is a value that protects our democratic institutions.
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