44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 9, 2023 10:00AM
- May/9/23 10:30:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, first, in terms of being the opposition party, I just want to say to that NDP member and his entire party that we could use a little help over here. They are not the opposition any more; they are a part of the government. They vote with the government on pretty much everything.
I appreciate the question, but, of course, the member knows very well that our position is that we should have a public inquiry. If it had been called right off the bat instead of having an appointment of the Trudeau Foundation as special rapporteur, maybe we would not be in this place right now.
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- May/9/23 10:50:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have intervened on this topic several times to implore members of the House to lower the temperature. I applaud the member who just spoke, because she did attempt to lower the temperature in the House and focus on real solutions.
How does the member see a way out of this impasse in the House, where everything is being held up? Would she agree with me that the things that were in the Conservative motion were quite reasonable, including the necessity of calling a public inquiry, so we are not constantly saying ”he said, she said” about what has happened here and we can get an independent authority to judge the facts about foreign interference?
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- May/9/23 11:05:13 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are all very concerned with the fact that there is information that went through the proper channels, but either the Prime Minister ignored it, or he was incompetent in receiving that information on behalf of Canadians.
We have been over this. This has been perhaps the most alarming part of the information we have received. Canadians have been left in the lurch for two years. The Liberal government is trying to figure out why, only based on the fact that the freedom of the press allowed information to come to the public. Otherwise, we would be going about our days dealing with an array of other issues right now.
First and foremost, we want to know who knew, and when. We cannot believe that the Prime Minister and a lot of other people did not know. Certainly, the first act is, how do we fix that? The only way to do that is through an open inquiry at this point.
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- May/9/23 12:03:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from La Prairie for his speech. I always learn new turns of phrase from him. This time, it was, “It is about as easy as eating an apple through a tennis racquet”. I had not heard that one before.
I would like to make it clear that the NDP obviously supports our Conservative colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills and his family, who are in an extremely delicate position. I also agree that troubling facts keep emerging, what with the secret police stations, the contributions to Liberal candidates, the strange donations to the Trudeau Foundation, and now these threats against a member of Parliament, who was not informed for two years.
There is nothing more important in a democracy than getting to the whole truth so that Canadians can trust our institutions and the electoral process. Does my colleague agree that the only way to get at the whole truth is to hold an independent public inquiry?
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- May/9/23 12:04:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is right. Speaking of coalitions, I think it is pretty clear. The Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois and the NDP all agree. Is that partisanship? No, it is not.
I completely agree with my colleague that we need an independent public inquiry. We have been asking for one for a long time. The NDP has been asking for one. The Conservatives are also asking for one. The government got the brilliant idea to procrastinate once again, hoping things would get better on their own, only to discover that it had wasted two months and that the revelations keep on coming. It is not over yet, I am sure.
I therefore agree with the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. We need an independent public inquiry.
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- May/9/23 12:07:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it would take me longer than 40 seconds to say how much I appreciate my colleague. He is amazing.
To answer his question, yes, an independent public inquiry is essential. One thing we know for sure about the Prime Minister is that he is in no way competent enough to find out what happened and disclose it publicly. He has to hand over the reins to someone else, and an independent, public inquiry is what it will take.
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- May/9/23 12:31:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the motion is important because it enables us to express our indignation and shine a light on what happened to my Conservative colleague and his family.
Since day one, this government has been reacting instead of taking action. This has been going on for weeks. It is hard for us to believe that the Prime Minister just happened to find out last week that a member and his family were being threatened for the past two years. That is pretty hard to believe.
There is only one way to shine a light on the situation as a whole, which is not pretty: an independent public inquiry. We have been calling for this for weeks, as my colleague just said.
Instead of waiting for the special rapporteur, who is not independent in the least, will the Prime Minister stand up right now and launch an independent public inquiry?
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- May/9/23 1:07:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have been listening to this debate intently. There has been a lot of information that has come out over the last couple of weeks as a result of CSIS and The Globe and Mail. I am going to suggest that there is a disconnect between government, our security establishment and certainly the information that is being leaked to the media. There is only one option, and it is the only option that Parliament should be seized with, but also Canadians are showing a willingness and a desire for an open public inquiry into foreign interference, and I am wondering if my hon. colleague shares those sentiments.
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- May/9/23 1:08:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my friend from Barrie—Innisfil is right. A public, fair, free and open inquiry is absolutely essential. That is one small step that needs to be taken to help Canadians to restore their trust in our democratic institutions. Canadians cannot trust what happens here and Canadians, regardless of their political stripe, cannot trust what their Prime Minister says. We see increasingly this is the case, and that is not my opinion, that is increasingly what Canadians say when they are polled.
It is so deeply concerning about the future of our democracy, so we need that full, transparent and open public inquiry on this issue, and we need to ensure we get to the bottom of it, so that we can do the tough work to restore trust in our institutions, but we have to do so.
I would simply note that the member for Wellington—Halton Hills has referenced how this case is only the tip of the iceberg of foreign election interference is in Canada. That behooves each and every one of us to take seriously the fact that we have to get answers. We have to get to the bottom of this, so that we can preserve our democracy.
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- May/9/23 1:35:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, a lot of the speeches we have heard in the House on this topic centre on the idea of a public inquiry, and the member mentioned that. If a public inquiry were held and it upheld what has been said by the members on this side with respect to who knew what, heard what or participated in what and when, would the members opposite accept that ruling or would they say that there was something wrong with the public inquiry?
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- May/9/23 1:35:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is a unique question, and I thank the member for it.
The issue is this: The evidence that has been presented is non-partisan, and it is pretty clear. Yes, I support a public inquiry. Therefore, my question back would be this: Would the current government actually act on the findings of a public inquiry to improve our country's ability to reduce, limit and stop foreign interference?
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- May/9/23 2:28:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we need a public inquiry. It is necessary.
Foreign interference has a real impact on communities across the country. We saw the impact on the Chinese community, but there are several other communities that are also suffering the consequences.
Imagine what it must be like for families fleeing repressive governments. They arrive in Canada and the threats continue. This government is turning its back on these people. It is radio silence. It is doing nothing to protect these families.
Why is the Prime Minister not calling a public inquiry and why is he not protecting these families?
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- May/9/23 2:35:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, the Prime Minister said that he would launch a national public inquiry on foreign interference if necessary. Who will decide if it is necessary? The decision will be made by a former director of the Trudeau Foundation, which received an illegal donation from the regime in Beijing. I can already guess what the special rapporteur's response will be and how much credibility he has.
Yesterday, we gave every member of the House an unique opportunity to vote in favour of a independent national inquiry on foreign interference. All members of the House, except the government members, voted in favour of that motion.
Why does the government show so little respect for MPs?
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- May/9/23 2:57:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday the government finally expelled the Chinese diplomat involved in intimidating the member for Wellington—Halton Hills and his family. The government did that yesterday, not in 2021, when it found out what was going on.
In other words, the Chinese diplomat was not expelled for threatening the member in 2021. He was expelled because his threats have been making headlines for the past week. The Liberals' main concern is not that an MP was threatened; it is that the public knows they did nothing. That is one more reason they cannot be trusted to shed light on Chinese interference.
When will there be an independent public inquiry?
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- May/9/23 4:25:05 p.m.
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Order.
The hon. Minister of Public Safety has the floor.
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- May/9/23 4:25:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, using “disinformation” was brought up earlier today. It implies that members across the way are lying. Especially being the Minister of Public Safety and knowing the law in this country, he should know the law in this place, which is that one cannot say indirectly what one is not supposed to say directly. I would ask, once again, for the member to apologize.
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- May/9/23 6:53:24 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague. She is a real force and knows this file, and really what this comes down to is knowledge. It comes down to knowledge of the innocent people who are being targeted with the legislation. She knows them, and she listens to them; I think that is critical.
One of the things the member spoke about that I think is really important is the diversion and utilizing money, especially for young people, when we look at public safety, which is completely eroded in this country. In my own hometown, the police have basically had to put out a public awareness campaign about a violent offender whom they cannot hold on bail. That is how we protect our communities under the Liberal government; there is a public awareness social media campaign with a man's picture.
What does the member think we can be doing? What can the Conservatives do to undo this and divert young people especially to live a life of purpose instead of crime?
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- May/9/23 9:51:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, at the beginning of his speech, the member talked about the incredible beauty, hospitality and kindness of the people of China when he visited there. Then he spoke, of course, about the need for the public inquiry. I certainly hear this from people in my area who are of Chinese descent and background, Chinese Canadians. They have been standing up against the racism and discrimination that they have experienced because of a lot of this uncertainty.
Could the member talk about the point that, in a public inquiry, we could get to the bottom of a lot of this and help fight against anti-Asian racism?
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- May/9/23 10:36:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is a serious issue. I think everyone in this House is very concerned with this. We know this is a serious issue that keeps coming up again and again and again. What we need is transparency. Could the member talk about why a public inquiry is so important, even more so now as we discuss this matter of privilege?
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- May/9/23 10:36:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her concern for this issue.
Yes, transparency is part of the solution, because without transparency, we are sure to repeat past mistakes.
Let me draw a parallel with the holding of a public inquiry in the world of sports. We want this kind of inquiry because we want strong recommendations that will have the force of law. We want to get to the bottom of things and encourage people to come forward who may be too scared to speak publicly but who can confide in an authority they trust. We need a robust system, reliable mechanisms and independent people. A public inquiry can do this, but what we really need is for a country like Canada to take a strong stand.
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