44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
- 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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- 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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- 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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- May/2/23 2:44:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since we continue to get the same question in a broken-record format, let me highlight exactly what we are doing to combat foreign interference.
We introduced Bill C-59 to give CSIS additional threat reduction measure powers. We introduced Bill C-76 to crack down on foreign funding. We introduced the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians so we could work across partisan lines. We finally introduced NSIRA to ensure transparency on how we do this work to Canadians.
What is the distinction? We did those things; the Conservatives opposed.
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- May/2/23 2:45:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have explained several times now, decisions about what information should or should not be shared with the public are made by our public servants, who work in an independent and non-partisan manner. Yes, I will be working with the member for Wellington—Halton Hills to brief him and share information, because this government is there to protect not only that member, but everyone who works in the House.
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- May/2/23 2:51:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we do have to put the partisanship aside. It would have been a non-partisan act for the government to protect the MP's family, even though he is from another party. It would have been a non-partisan act to strip away the diplomatic immunity and kick this foreign agent out of country, yet the government did not do that.
We now need to know the facts. The briefing note showing these threats occurred was produced in July 2021. When did the minister find out?
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- May/2/23 2:52:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat encouraged. At least the Conservative leader is now using the right words for a change, in that he is saying it is non-partisan, which is what the government has been saying for months now on this issue. I have said to the Conservative leader and the member for Wellington—Halton Hills that we will work with them to get them the information on this issue.
CSIS has offered a briefing to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, and the Conservatives now, finally, hopefully after some reflection, will agree to work with the government to protect our institutions and the people who work in this chamber.
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- May/2/23 2:54:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said now on numerous occasions, decisions regarding what information that touches on security and intelligence is released into the public domain are made by our independent and non-partisan public servants. We have reached out to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills.
The government's commitment is to work with him and all members of this chamber so we can do the work of protecting our institutions, our communities and, most importantly, the people who represent, in this chamber, the 338 ridings. We will do that work in a non-partisan way.
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- May/2/23 3:59:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to say just a few words, not many. In case Canadians watching this do not know the quality and the integrity of the hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills, I want to attest to it here in a non-partisan fashion. This is an exemplary member of Parliament. It is an outrage that any foreign government would target him and his family. I have had the honour of serving here for exactly 12 years today from when I was elected; since then, I have known no finer parliamentarian than the hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills.
For any member to be treated in this way is offensive. Partisanship obviously happens here, but in a non-partisan way, I want to attest to the integrity, character and extraordinary ethical framework of that member and ask that his concerns be addressed with diligence.
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- May/2/23 9:37:45 p.m.
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Madam Chair, some of the questions that have arisen today have been touching. They are about the cross-partisan work that has been done on the issue.
In terms of the work that the member has done at committee and since being a member of Parliament, what does she think has had the most impact? What else would she like to achieve in her role as a member of Parliament here?
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