44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 8, 2023 02:00PM
Mr. Speaker, in Communist countries like China and North Korea, the government determines what online media content people can and cannot see. The government determines what content is suitable for the country.
The Liberal government has brought forward Bill C-11, which would allow cabinet to tell the CRTC what the criteria for acceptable content are. It would also allow them to use algorithms to either allow the content to be seen by Canadians or bury it.
The Senate tried to bring amendments to exclude individual content from being censored, but the Liberal government has said it will refuse to accept these amendments.
Canada is not yet a Communist country, and Conservatives want to ensure that Canada remains the freest nation on Earth. In order to do that, we need to kill Bill C-11.
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- Mar/8/23 2:20:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today we are celebrating International Women's Day. We have come a long way. There are now over 100 women sitting in the House.
Women around the world stand together, bound by a deep sense of gratitude to the brave women who faced adversity to defend our rights. Today, we can be proud to live in a country that allows women to work and care for their families, implements policies that give them child care, lifts women out of poverty and invests in shelters for women fleeing violence.
According to the World Bank, more than 2.4 billion women are not afforded equal economic opportunities. Women's rights are not just about money. Women's rights are about dignity and opportunity.
We must be vigilant, however, because global and national movements are threatening women's rights. They threaten the right to choose. This is about preserving the rights gained and extending them to all women. That is my wish on this International Women's Day.
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Mr. Speaker, today is International Women’s Day.
As people struggle with the high cost of living, the poverty rate for single moms is the highest among all family types. The Vancouver School Food Network and Coalition for Healthy School Food are calling on the Liberal government for a funded national school food program in budget 2023. Rising food costs and greedflation have put an enormous strain on families, and too often, children go to school hungry.
The NDP’s Bill C-212 would help families that are stretched to the max and having trouble putting food on the table. The Liberals ran on a promise of investing $1 billion over five years for a national school nutritious meal program, but empty promises will not fill empty stomachs.
I am calling for a national school food program in budget 2023. I am also calling for a guaranteed basic livable income, a low-income CERB and CRB amnesty and the refund of clawbacks from Canada child benefit recipients. Let us end poverty and bring food security to all families and their children.
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- Mar/8/23 2:22:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this International Women's Rights Day, I would like to honour the memory of a woman who had a huge impact on the social and cultural identity of my part of the country.
Elsie Reford was the kind of philanthropist we could use more of. Known for her civic engagement, she was a co-founder of the Women's Canadian Club of Montreal. As the first women's club in Canada, it helped give women a voice in the early 1900s.
Born into the Montreal bourgeoisie, Elsie Reford became a prominent horticulturist in the lower St. Lawrence region. She founded the very popular Les Jardins de Métis, an exceptional work of horticultural art and an internationally recognized jewel in our region's crown.
Today's date, March 8, was carefully chosen for the launch of a book about her life. Elsie Reford: 150 Objects of Passion tells the story of this passionate woman and of the passions that inspired her and made her story so fascinating.
We still have a long way to go, but I am grateful to Elsie Reford and all the women who laid the groundwork for our emancipation.
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- Mar/8/23 2:24:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about foreign interference into Canadian elections. However, instead of accepting the proposal from all opposition MPs for a public inquiry, the Liberals are offering a secret process at a secret committee, with secret hearings, secret evidence and secret conclusions all controlled by the Prime Minister. He is focused on protecting himself and not our democratic institutions.
Yesterday, at the procedure and House affairs committee, the Liberals filibustered for hours and then did not even show up to the committee meeting. All this was to prevent the Liberal chief of staff from testifying under oath. Canadians deserve to know what the Prime Minister knew, when he knew about it and why he chose to keep it from the public. Canadians deserve answers, a public inquiry, or better yet, a new Prime Minister.
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- Mar/8/23 2:25:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this International Women's Day, I would like to pay tribute to the women of Dignity International, a Canadian not-for-profit organization with the mission of empowering women, youth and families. Its 3,100 members can be found across Canada, with the majority located in Ontario. It has received numerous awards for its grassroots community support and development.
The organization established a presence in Kitchener a mere two years ago, and it has since grown to 104 members. It is an example of the tremendous work it is accomplishing in improving lives by reducing poverty among low-income families, people in shelters and homeless persons in community living. Through various outreaches in training, sports, food banks, empowerment skills for women, youth development and many others, this organization is making a real difference in the lives of so many. I wish to thank the women of Dignity International for their contribution, dedication and service in enriching our community and communities all across Canada.
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- Mar/8/23 2:26:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said repeatedly that he had no knowledge of funds from the dictatorship in Beijing going to federal election candidates. Today, we learned that is not true. His department prepared a briefing that said a large clandestine transfer of funds earmarked for the federal election, from the PRC, in Toronto was transferred to an elected provincial government official via a staff member of a 2019 federal candidate.
Why did the Prime Minister say the opposite of what he knew to be true?
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- 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 2:27:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is impossible, because not only did his own department prepare a briefing for him, which said candidates had received funds, so did his own security committee. I will quote Global News: “Global News also learned of an earlier, high-level warning about clandestine funding of China’s ‘preferred candidates’ that came from a bipartisan panel of parliamentarians two months before the 2019 election.”
That so-called bipartisan panel is the Prime Minister's secret committee. It reports to him. He knew. Why did he say the opposite of what he knew?
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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 2:29:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister stated another falsehood. He said it reports to the public; many of its findings are not reported to the public. Second, section 21 of the act that creates that committee states that its reports go to the Prime Minister. They have to go to the Prime Minister, and he is the one who decides what becomes public thereafter. Therefore, he knew, when that committee reported, that candidates received money directed by the dictatorship in Beijing, yet he has been saying and continues to say exactly the opposite. Why is that?
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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 2:30:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, section 21 of the act that creates that secret committee says, “Each year the Committee must submit to the Prime Minister a report of the reviews it conducted during the preceding year.” In other words, he did receive the report. He should stop playing word games. Nobody needs to go to the library. What we need to do is get to the truth.
The Prime Minister knew that his own security committee said Beijing had directed funds to candidates in preceding elections, yet he continues to say exactly the opposite. Is he saying the committee is lying?
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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 2:31:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we all agree that the Prime Minister has seen the report. Well, this is what Global News says of the report: “Global News also learned of an earlier, high-level warning about clandestine funding of China's ‘preferred candidates’ that came from a bipartisan panel of parliamentarians two months before the 2019 election.”
China gave money to its preferred candidates. The Prime Minister admits that the committee reported to him on this fact. Why does he continue to state the diametric opposite of the truth in his answers in the House of Commons?
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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 2:33:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not strictly the NDP's duty to protect our electoral system. It is not the Bloc Québécois's duty to do that either. It is not the Conservatives' duty, and it is clearly not the Liberals' duty. It is the duty of all of us, collectively.
What the Prime Minister does not seem to understand is that the integrity of our democracy is under threat. We should all be concerned, and we must all be part of the solution.
All parties are calling for an independent commission of public inquiry. Why is the Prime Minister stubbornly refusing this inquiry?
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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 2:34:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, whether the Prime Minister likes it or not, elections are not the exclusive responsibility of the Prime Minister or his party. They are everyone's responsibility. What is at issue here is democracy, not the Liberals. There must be no doubt in anyone's mind that every person sitting in the House of Commons was elected legitimately, without trickery and without interference. This means that there cannot be any secret meetings and no rapporteur chosen by the Prime Minister.
Why is the Prime Minister refusing to have an independent commission of public inquiry, as everyone is calling for?
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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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