44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 8, 2023 02:00PM
- Mar/8/23 2:27:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the issue of foreign interference in our democracies and our institutions is extraordinarily serious. This is why, as a government, we have always taken it incredibly seriously, including by building and creating new mechanisms to oversee and to ensure that we can counter that interference and demonstrate to Canadians that they can have confidence in their institutions. However, on the specific question, as I and the NSIA both stated last fall, we have no information on any federal candidates receiving money from China, and that continues to remain the case.
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- Mar/8/23 2:28:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said last fall, and as the national security and intelligence adviser stated, we have no information on federal candidates receiving money from China. That continues to be the case.
In regard to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, I am happy to correct the hon. member and highlight that this committee actually publishes reports to Parliament and to the public. This is something that is very clear. It is a committee of parliamentarians. They get top secret clearance so they can look at everything our intelligence committees do and then report back to Parliament.
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- Mar/8/23 2:29:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, parliamentarians can now go to the Library of Parliament or go online and see reports from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians that were released publicly to them. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, which the previous Conservative government opposed as an oversight body, actually allows parliamentarians to attain those top secret clearance levels to look into everything our intelligence agencies do and report back to Parliament, to me and to Canadians on how that is working.
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- Mar/8/23 2:31:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to clear up the confusion around what the committee reports. Yes, the committee reports to me and to the government, but it also reports to parliamentarians and shares those reports. This is the way many committees function in our government, and they will continue to do so. In regard to the issue of whether federal candidates received money from China, as I have stated many times, we have no information on that.
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- Mar/8/23 2:32:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think we all understand how important it is that Canadians have both confidence in our government's ability to counter foreign interference and confidence in the transparency and openness with which that happens. That is why, beyond the partisan to-and-fro that we necessarily see in this House, it is important to create an independent, unimpeachable, special rapporteur who is going to be able to oversee the entire landscape around national security to make sure that committees are doing their work and that the various bodies keep Canada safe.
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- Mar/8/23 2:33:37 p.m.
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On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, I am not at all opposed to it. I know very well that Canadians need to have confidence in our electoral system, in our democracy and in the institutions that are there to protect them.
That is why I am going to ask an independent special rapporteur to examine whether any structures need improvements and to make the appropriate recommendations. The rapporteur will also be able to reassure Canadians across party lines that everything is being done correctly.
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- Mar/8/23 2:35:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, everyone in the House agrees that it is important to rise above partisanship to protect the integrity of our democracy and its institutions. That is why we will choose an independent individual to ensure that the mechanisms proposed are the right ones.
Yes, we have heard from experts that a public inquiry would be the right thing to do, but we also heard experts say that that might not be the best way to get answers.
I believe that handing this over to an independent special rapporteur, an expert who could make a determination, is the right thing for all of us.
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- Mar/8/23 2:36:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy, first of all, to repeat that we have no information on federal candidates receiving money from China. At the same time, Canadians are concerned about these various reports and allegations, because there are ongoing attempts at interference by China and other countries. That is why we are putting forward an independent expert to look at the entire landscape around foreign interference and the tools we have, and make a determination about how we can not just ensure that everything is being done to protect Canadians and democracy, but give Canadians confidence that everything will continue to be done.
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- Mar/8/23 2:37:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, some experts are saying that a public inquiry is necessary and would help provide some answers. However, other extremely credible experts are saying that a public inquiry may not help find the answers to restore Canadians' trust.
We know that Canadians want to be reassured about the fact that all the right mechanisms are in place. We will ask an independent expert to look at everything we need to restore Canadians' confidence and start the process. It may be a public inquiry, a judicial review or another type of inquiry.
We know that there are mechanisms—
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- Mar/8/23 2:38:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians well know that issues around national security are extremely important to deal with, including by elected officials and parliamentarians. This was a point of significant disagreement between the previous Harper government and our party in opposition, which is why we committed to creating the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, where parliamentarians from all parties receive top secret clearances and are allowed to dig into everything national security agencies are doing. That is exactly what we have allowed for.
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- Mar/8/23 2:39:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as all members in this House well know, our intelligence agencies and officials work very hard every single day to keep Canadians, including Canadians of all different backgrounds and including all parliamentarians, safe from the impacts of foreign interference. Their work is carefully scrutinized by a number of oversight bodies, including NSIRA and NSICOP, that allow parliamentarians and experts to ensure that CSIS and other intelligence agencies are doing everything necessary to keep Canadians and our institutions safe.
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- Mar/8/23 2:40:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians will know that issues of national security and foreign interference can often be highly sensitive, which is why we have created bodies like NSICOP and NSIRA and other mechanisms to oversee the important and top secret work that our intelligence agencies. We need to make sure they are doing everything necessary to protect Canadians and make sure that governments are held accountable for acting on information that they could have received from our intelligence agencies. These are processes we have put in place since 2015 that we will continue to work with.
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- Mar/8/23 2:41:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we well know that issues of national security can be highly challenging to discuss as parliamentarians on the open floor of the House of Commons. That is why, over the objections of the former minister in the Harper government that objected to the creation of a national security and intelligence oversight committee, who is now the leader of the opposition, we went ahead and created a body that allows members of Parliament to get cleared to top secret levels so they can look into this question and all questions in a way that does not compromise national security.
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- Mar/8/23 2:42:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, issues around national security have deep implications for the safety and well-being of Canadians and those who serve to keep Canadians safe, sometimes in extraordinarily dangerous positions here and around the world. That is why we have created bodies that allow parliamentarians to get top secret clearance so they can look directly at everything that is done without putting at risk the brave women and men who serve this country to keep all Canadians safe.
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- Mar/8/23 2:42:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have created formal processes where parliamentarians from all parties, including from the member's own party, can get top secret clearances to look into matters impacting national security and the safety of Canadians without putting at risk the women and men who serve in our intelligence communities here in Canada and around the world so they are able to continue to do their jobs of keeping Canadians safe. I know that no one in this House wants to put anyone who serves this country at risk.
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- Mar/8/23 2:44:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am waiting for the independent special rapporteur—meaning the independent expert who will be responsible for investigating the mechanisms in place free of any partisan politics—to do their work. The rapporteur will determine whether we need more mechanisms, not only to ensure that the government can do its utmost to protect our democracy and our institutions, but also so that Canadians can have confidence that everything is being done to protect our democracy, our elections and our institutions.
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- Mar/8/23 2:45:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I find my hon. colleague's comments to be rather disturbing, suggesting that experts may not be as well suited to protect our democracy as the opposition parties.
We are not claiming that one party is better suited than the others for protecting the integrity of our institutions and our elections. That is precisely why Canadians want us to rely on non-partisan experts to make recommendations and to ensure that everything is being done to ensure that they can have confidence in our processes.
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- Mar/8/23 2:46:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have addressed a number of questions along the lines of national security. I want to point out another issue that I know is preoccupying for Canadians.
Just recently, Conservative Party MPs knowingly dined with a far-right German politician. Christine Anderson and her party's far-right, xenophobic, anti-science, pro-Putin views are well known. The member's carefully crafted condemnation that neither he nor his MPs will repeat publicly will not cut it. It is time he gave Canadians real answers and apologize.
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- Mar/8/23 2:47:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is extremely important that, as a Parliament, as parliamentary committees, as a government and as Canadians, we look into the issue of foreign interference. That is why, at parliamentary committee, the ministers of democratic institutions and foreign affairs are scheduled to appear tomorrow. PROC has heard from Elections Canada, the director of CSIS, the chief of the CSE, the deputy commissioner of the RCMP, the deputy minister of foreign affairs and the deputy minister of international trade.
To quote the member for Carleton, “for hundreds of years, the principle of ministerial accountability has been paramount here in the House and in its committees.” We agree.
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- Mar/8/23 2:48:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians can well see that there are important partisan and political considerations overlaying all these exchanges in the House, which is why Canadians want us to be able to step back as a country and see what actually happened, who actually was doing their job to protect against foreign interference and was everyone doing the right things.
That is why pulling forward an independent expert to oversee the work that is being done to ensure everything that needed to be done was done and was done properly, and that it continues to be done, is going to be important, and that is what we are proposing.
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