44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 8, 2023 11:00AM
- May/8/23 2:34:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when something happens once, it is a mistake. When something happens twice, it is a pattern. When something happens three or four or five times, it is a decision.
The Prime Minister and members of his party have all perpetuated the myth that the member for Wellington—Halton Hills knew about the threats against his family because he was briefed two years ago. It is false. At some point, someone made a conscious decision to gaslight Canadians.
Will someone on the other side have the courage to stand up and apologize for the disgusting attempt to discredit a member of this House?
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- May/8/23 2:35:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague across the aisle knows full well, both the Prime Minister and I directly reached out to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills to share the concerns with regard to the reports around foreign interference and his family. We offered him a briefing, and we will continue to provide that support going forward.
What is also important is that while the Conservatives talk tough when it comes to national security, they never back it up. They cut nearly a billion dollars out of the national security apparatus. They stood in the way of the additional tools to our national security apparatus, which are there to defend the members of this chamber. If they are serious about uniting behind the cause of defending democracy, they will start doing it today.
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- May/8/23 2:36:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he was not briefed two years ago on it. They know it and they are purposely victim blaming. They are gaslighting Canadians. This is about a member of this House serving his country and the safety of his family in the balance. It is appalling that the Liberals are tarnishing this MP, but it is even worse that the diplomat who perpetuated it is still here, with rights even Canadians do not have, given to him by that government.
If there are no consequences, it will just happen again. The diplomat needs to go back to Beijing, and it needs to happen now. Will they do it today?
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- May/8/23 2:36:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I first want to say that there was a lot of heat in the House last week about this issue and not a lot of light. I think what we all, on this side of the House, want to do is express our concern for the member for Wellington—Halton Hills and for every Canadian who could be the subject, the target, of any interference from China, from Russia or from any other country in the world.
We will continue to take the steps to ensure that MPs are informed, that Canadians are informed and that we have a safe and secure democracy.
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- May/8/23 2:37:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is really trying hard to save face after his complete failure to protect our democracy, Canadians and members of this House from intimidation by the Beijing dictatorship. Last Friday, he doubled down and blamed and attacked the credibility of the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. The Prime Minister claimed that his office had not been briefed and that he knew nothing about this until recently.
Will the Prime Minister stop spreading this categorically false narrative and finally expel this Beijing agent today?
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- May/8/23 2:37:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only falsehood that is being spread today is the outrageous suggestion that the members of the government on this side of the chamber have no care or regard for the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. Nothing could be further from the truth. That is why we are continuing to support him, and we will support all members when it comes to doing their job so that it is free from foreign interference.
The Conservatives need to stop politicizing this issue. That simply plays into the hands of foreign interference. We need to be united in defending our democracy, and we can do that work successfully only if we do it together.
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- May/8/23 2:38:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that Canadians do not believe the Prime Minister and, most assuredly, the minister. Canada's spy agency did in fact notify the government two years ago regarding Beijing's threat to a member of this House. Even the Prime Minister's own national security adviser confirmed that her office had received this information in 2021.
Enough of the smoke and mirrors. Will the Prime Minister apologize for deliberately misleading this House, be a leader for once, stand up for the security of all Canadians and finally expel that Beijing agent?
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- May/8/23 2:39:11 p.m.
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I just want to mention and make sure that everyone is clear that if you are misleading someone, you are doing it unintentionally, but “deliberately misleading” is not acceptable language. I am sure it was an error on the member—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
The Speaker: As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I want to remind everyone that there is certain language that is not allowed in the chamber, and deliberately misleading is not allowed.
The hon. Minister of Public Safety.
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- May/8/23 2:39:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for reminding our colleagues in the Conservative Party about that principle. In all candour, the only way that we are going to be able to do the work of defending our institutions is if we rid ourselves of the kind of partisanship and politicization that has been plaguing this subject for weeks.
It should be abundantly clear that if we want to protect our democratic institutions and the people who work in them, including every member in this chamber and their families, then we must do that together. This government has put in place new authorities and transparencies. Let us get behind the cause of defending it so we can have real debates that are rooted in our democratic principles.
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- May/8/23 2:40:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what an embarrassing answer. A member of the House and his family were targeted by a bully diplomat from Beijing following a vote in the House. The events occurred two years ago, yet the member was only informed last week.
Since then, the Liberals have been whipped into a frenzy. Instead of supporting our colleague, they have accused him. Who accused him? It was the member for Kingston and the Islands and the member for Winnipeg North. Worse, the member for Papineau and Prime Minister, who had to have known, claims that the opposition member knew, but the member in question told us that is not true.
Are all the Liberal ministers okay with defending a Beijing bully instead of a Canadian MP and his family?
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- May/8/23 2:41:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every minister in our government—and this should be true of every member of the House—agrees that we must work together to protect democratic institutions and to ensure that all members of the House, including our friend from Wellington—Halton Hills, are able to do their jobs as members of Parliament without foreign interference.
This has always been a priority for our government. We have implemented measures that did not exist under the previous government. We will continue to strengthen them further.
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- May/8/23 2:42:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, how can the Liberals continue doing something that they never started doing in the first place? The Prime Minister did nothing. The Prime Minister's Office did nothing. The Minister of Foreign Affairs did nothing. The Minister of Public Safety did nothing. There were no arrests and no expulsions. This sends a clear message: Beijing can go on intimidating Canadian MPs, and this Prime Minister will just keep his eyes shut.
The only real consequences are that two members of the House were silenced for trying to put a stop to Liberal disinformation. Why is the Prime Minister putting up with the ongoing presence in Canada of a bullying agent from Beijing?
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- May/8/23 2:42:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague seems confused. The person who did nothing to protect our democratic institutions against the already existing threat of foreign interference is the current Leader of the Opposition, when he was the minister responsible for democratic institutions.
Since we formed the government, we have taken action. We will be announcing more action to strengthen the measures we introduced in 2019 and 2021. We will keep on protecting our democratic institutions.
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- May/8/23 2:43:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no country in recent history has planned to triple its population in 75 years. The Century Initiative deserves a responsible, intelligent debate. Quebeckers have some questions, and rightly so. There has been no debate, and the federal government appears to be going ahead with it anyway.
Ottawa's immigration targets for 2025 already match those of the Century Initiative. Would the Liberals like to distance themselves from the Century Initiative, or are they confirming that this is Canada's immigration plan?
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- May/8/23 2:43:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am making decisions that are essential to supporting our economy and ensuring population growth in our community. It is important that every member of the House understand that protecting the demographic weight of francophones in this country can be achieved while also increasing the number of newcomers.
As the member well knows, it is up to the Government of Quebec to set the immigration levels for its province, and it is up to the federal government to set the levels for the entire country. I continue to increase the numbers to support our economy. It is good for Canada, and it is good for Quebec.
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- May/8/23 2:44:28 p.m.
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What a coincidence, Mr. Speaker. The federal government's targets are the same as those of the Century Initiative.
The Century Initiative's top priority is economic interests. Dominic Barton confirmed that they did not think about anything else. They did not think about the impact that tripling the population would have on the future of French. They also did not think about indigenous languages or the political weight of the first nations. They did not think about the housing shortage.
The Century Initiative's targets are based only on economic interests, but can the government at least prove that it considered other factors before using those same targets?
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- May/8/23 2:45:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, it is not up to me to defend the Century Initiative's decisions. However, it is up to me to put forward ideas for our government. I am the one who decides on the targets set out in the federal government's immigration plan. Those targets take into account economic and social factors, particularly the decision to increase the number of francophone newcomers.
Last year, for the first time in Canada's history, we reached the target of 4.4% francophone newcomers. That is a good thing. I will continue to protect the French language.
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- May/8/23 2:45:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they are congratulating themselves on reaching their target once in 20 years. That speaks volumes.
It is unthinkable to triple the population to 100 million without public debate. Doing so would mean fundamentally changing Canada and Quebec behind closed doors with input only from economic circles.
Immigration policies are not a virtue contest, they are public choices with real consequences that should be democratic. No one has asked Quebeckers or Canadians what they think. No one has asked workers, community organizations, groups dedicated to delivering services to the public what they think.
Why would economic circles have the first, last and only say on this?
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- May/8/23 2:46:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my friend is totally missing the mark. In reality, it is up to the Government of Quebec to set immigration thresholds for that province.
If members from the Bloc Québécois want the federal government to establish these thresholds for the Province of Quebec, then I invite them to appeal to my counterpart, Minister Fréchette. It would be interesting to hear how that conversation goes.
I have respected Quebec's jurisdictions. I have respected the terms of the agreement with Quebec and I increased the number of newcomers in general, in order to protect the French language while increasing the demographic weight of francophones.
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- May/8/23 2:47:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the current government has failed Canadians when it comes to foreign interference from Beijing. At least eight police stations have been set up to monitor Canadians on their own soil. Eleven MPs have had interference in either their nomination or election. Two years ago, a sitting MP had his family intimidated by a Beijing operative in Toronto. With all the inaction, the very least Canadians can expect is to have that operative kicked out of Canada. When will he be?
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