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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 189

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 189 - May/2/23
Mr. Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, NDP)
  • May/2/23 2:31:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, honestly, that is hard to take. Clearly, this government could not care less about the damage caused by its inaction on foreign interference. Clearly, the Prime Minister must have known that the member's family was facing threats abroad. What will it take for this Prime Minister to take action and immediately launch a public inquiry?
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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)
  • May/2/23 2:32:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been taking action since 2015. When we hosted the G7 in 2018, we created a mechanism with our allies to fight interference. In 2019, we set up a committee of national security experts to safeguard the integrity of our elections. We also created a committee of parliamentarians to examine security and intelligence matters, as well as a review committee within the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency. We are still doing everything necessary with an independent expert responsible for looking into all matters related to—
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The Speaker
  • May/2/23 2:33:02 p.m.
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The hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills.
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Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills, CPC)
  • May/2/23 2:33:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government has had 24 hours to get some basic facts about PRC diplomats targeting of MPs, but here is my question. On September 10, 2019, the public safety minister issued a directive to CSIS ordering the service to inform the minister of any matter or action of interest to the minister. When was the public safety minister or his office first made aware that a PRC diplomat, Mr. Wei Zhao, was targeting me or my family?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/2/23 2:34:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as this is the first occasion that the member for Wellington—Halton Hills has risen since this matter was brought to the attention of the public and this chamber, I want to express solidarity to him and to his family. We will continue to work with him and all parliamentarians to make sure he and all parliamentarians get the support they need. Since the outset, when we took the reins of government, we have been vigilant in fighting against foreign interference. We have put in place the people, the resources, the tools and the oversight, as the Prime Minister just said, to defend our institutions. We will do that work together.
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The Speaker
  • May/2/23 2:34:36 p.m.
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Before we go to the next question, I want to remind hon. members that calling each other names is not parliamentary language. The hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills.
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Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills, CPC)
  • May/2/23 2:34:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the directive of September 10, 2019, is clear. It says: The Service has a duty to inform the Minister of any such matter as is relevant to enable the Minister to fulfill the Minister’s accountabilities as outlined in the CSIS Act. In general terms, the Minister expects to be consulted or informed regarding any action on which a Deputy Head would normally involve his or her Minister. My question, again, is very simple. When did the public safety minister or his office first become aware that a PRC diplomat was targeting a member of the House and their family?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/2/23 2:35:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague across the aisle for highlighting the directive that this government has put in place to ensure transparency and accountability around decisions, which are taken independently by our non-partisan professional public servants when it comes to which classified information is made public and which must remain classified to protect the people who work in that space. This is not a partisan issue. We must all work together to defend the institutions, the communities and, most important, the parliamentarians who serve those institutions to protect our democracy.
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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)
  • May/2/23 2:36:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what a gutless response. What if that happened to that minister's family? I have the same question. When did he know?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/2/23 2:36:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have just said, it is our non-partisan independent public servants who make decisions around operations, including which classified information is made public, and for good reason. It is important that we protect the people who work in those institutions, not only to protect our national security but to protect the people who work within these institutions, including parliamentarians. Let me just say that it is outrageous to make the claim that any member of Parliament would stand for any attack on any parliamentarian. We are united in fighting against foreign interference.
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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)
  • May/2/23 2:37:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when did he know?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/2/23 2:37:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague can continue to ask the same question and she will get the same answer. It is this government that has raised the bar on transparency, when it comes to protecting our institutions, by creating a committee of parliamentarians, by creating NSIRA. By the way, I would point out the Conservatives had nearly 10 years to create those institutions and they never did. Rather than suggesting that we stand up, I suggest they now stand up and get behind the cause of the government so we can protect all parliamentarians and our institutions.
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Mr. Luc Berthold (Mégantic—L'Érable, CPC)
  • May/2/23 2:37:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on September 10, 2019, CSIS received a ministerial directive to inform the minister of public safety of any disturbing fact concerning foreign interference. I will ask the Minister of Public Safety a simple question: When did he learn that a Beijing diplomat was threatening a member of the House?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/2/23 2:38:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, that is the same question and I will give the same answer. The government increased the level of transparency by creating a committee of parliamentarians to examine national security issues and by creating the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, or NSIRA. We will continue to work with all members to protect our institutions, and, more importantly, with all the people and all MPs who work in this institution to protect democracy. That is the most important thing.
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Mr. Luc Berthold (Mégantic—L'Érable, CPC)
  • May/2/23 2:38:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when did the minister find out?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/2/23 2:38:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question is always the same, so the answer is always the same.
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Mr. René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, BQ)
  • May/2/23 2:39:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, things are moving quickly today. The Liberals keep lecturing about democratic values when anyone asks them about the foreign interference they are involved in. Let us talk about democratic values. The Prime Minister was warned by CSIS that China was threatening an MP and his family. Any democrat worth their salt would have alerted that MP, whether they be a Conservative, Liberal, Bloc or NDP member. However, the Prime Minister again chose secrecy. By prioritizing partisan secrecy over a family's safety, he has crossed the line into the unacceptable. When will there be an independent public inquiry?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/2/23 2:39:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, it is absolutely outrageous that the Bloc Québécois would suggest that this government stood idly by on an issue such as this one, which affected a member of Parliament and his family. This is why the government has created tools to give our communities certain national security responsibilities in order to defend everyone working in our institutions. We will remain vigilant on this issue.
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Mr. René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, BQ)
  • May/2/23 2:40:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the meantime, CSIS is warning that Beijing sees Canada as a high-priority target for interference. Obviously, it is easy for China. China could get close to the Prime Minister through the Trudeau Foundation. China could get close to the Liberals at their own $1,500-a-head cocktail parties during their first term. Then, when China gets caught by CSIS doing things like threatening the family of an elected member, the Liberals keep it a secret. Do the Liberals realize that it is their fault that China is infiltrating our institutions with disturbing ease?
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/2/23 2:40:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I already explained, this government is truly proactive when it comes to dealing with the challenge of foreign interference. That is why we gave more powers to CSIS. That is why we introduced Bill C‑76 to crack down on foreign contributions that could pose a threat to our institutions. We will continue to do this important work to protect communities, institutions and, more importantly, all Canadians.
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