44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 31, 2023 02:00PM
- May/31/23 2:14:52 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we know that Beijing interfered in the last two federal elections. The Liberals' response was to use their Trudeau Foundation friends to cover it up. The NDP's appearance of standing up to foreign interference is like a bad group-work partner: They arrive late, do nothing, copy others and then boast that the best ideas were their own. I guess the NDP is just an empty “bewoke” suit.
Just yesterday, after the bark and bluster of an NDP motion calling for the resignation of the special rapporteur, the NDP leader walked out of the House right into a media scrum, and dismissed calls to end this Canadian coalition nightmare.
If the New Democrats were serious about wanting to restore confidence in our electoral system, they would do what Canadians are asking: get out of the way and let Conservatives fix what the Liberals have broken.
150 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/31/23 2:42:51 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians are entitled to the facts. That is why we want a public inquiry.
We know that Beijing gave $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation. We know that when the scandal broke, he named Mr. Rosenberg to look into it. Rosenberg is with the Trudeau Foundation. When the scandal exploded further, he named Mr. Johnston, also a member of the Trudeau Foundation. What did he do? He named another judge from the Trudeau Foundation to look into the conflict of interest.
Is the Prime Minister afraid of a public inquiry because he has run out of members of the Trudeau Foundation to run it?
107 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/31/23 2:44:50 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are entitled to the facts. When Beijing gave $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation, a scandal broke. To investigate, the Prime Minister appointed Mr. Rosenberg, a member of the Trudeau Foundation. The scandal exploded further. He then appointed Mr. Johnston, who is a member of the Trudeau Foundation. To ensure that there was no conflict of interest, Mr. Johnston appointed Mr. Iacobucci, who is a member of the Trudeau Foundation.
Does the Prime Minister not want a public inquiry because he has run out of members of the Trudeau Foundation to run it?
101 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/31/23 2:48:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to suggest a hypothesis that explains why we are seeing what we are seeing. Has there ever been a Prime Minister less serious than this one, or one so unworthy of the office he holds?
We are talking about the intimidation of elected officials, illegal election financing, industrial espionage, research funded by Huawei, the Trudeau Foundation and contempt for intelligence officers. We already know more than enough to demand a truly independent and public inquiry, not just this nonsense from his buddy.
Will the Prime Minister scrap his policy, which is damaging to Canada and Quebec, and is good for China?
106 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/31/23 3:08:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, he just needs to come out with the facts, but as someone once said, he would not know what to do with the facts.
The Prime Minister is protecting someone or something. Who? What? What skeletons are hiding in the Trudeau Foundation's closet? Just how low will he go to protect his secrets? What is China doing and to whom? How has China managed to intimidate the entire Liberal government?
73 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/1/23 12:01:49 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to speak about the Trudeau Foundation. It is timely that this question has come up because Canada has been rocked by this foreign interference scandal. The Trudeau Foundation has been at the centre of it, and the public accounts committee, of which I am a member, has been trying to get to the bottom of what happened, but has been repeatedly stonewalled by the Liberals and their friends at the foundation.
To set the stage a little bit, as Canada has been rocked by this foreign interference scandal, a foreign government interfering repeatedly in Canadian democratic elections, Liberals have repeatedly tried to cover this up by turning to so-called independent people to investigate this, such as people from the Trudeau Foundation, not just once but twice. The government asked people from the Trudeau Foundation to investigate the problem of foreign interference, even though the Trudeau Foundation itself had been subject to foreign interference.
The Trudeau Foundation received a massive donation from a CCP-affiliated individual, who we know about, and it said that it had returned the money, even when they had not returned the money. Conservatives on the public accounts committee said that we needed to get to the bottom of what happened to the Trudeau Foundation, the foreign interference that it had been subject to, even while the government asked people from the Trudeau Foundation to investigate.
The call for an investigation from the public accounts committee responded to particular problems created by the structure of the Trudeau Foundation, which is a Frankenstein hybrid between public and private. It is a public institution in many respects. It is tied in with the Trudeau family. The Prime Minister remains a member of the foundation. At the same time, it is organized in a sense as a private organization. It is both public and private, and this creates big problems for holding it accountable. The Auditor General has said that she cannot study private donations that go to the Trudeau Foundation, as it is not part of her mandate. The CRA was asked to investigate, but it cannot talk about any of this.
Liberals opposed our motion initially in the public accounts committee to investigate it. Eventually, they agreed to allow two meetings on this, but the public accounts committee continues to be stonewalled. We have had virtually no witnesses agree to testify. Conservatives have tried to summon witnesses who will not appear, and that includes David Johnston, but Liberals have tried to block that. We have tried to request additional documents from the CRA that would allow us to do our work, but Liberals have been, for an extended period of time, filibustering our request for documents.
At the core of this is the fact that David Johnston will not testify. David Johnston, the Prime Minister's good friend and ski buddy, has been named the so-called special rapporteur for foreign interference and is affiliated with the Trudeau Foundation. He has written a report on foreign interference that, surprise, surprise, makes no mention of the Trudeau Foundation. Supposedly, he is looking into foreign interference, but there is no mention of the Trudeau Foundation, of which David Johnston was a part. He should testify, and he should explain that.
We have a situation today where David Johnston, the Prime Minister's special rapporteur, who refused a request by a majority of the House of Commons to resign, is refusing to appear before the public accounts committee. The reality is that David Johnston has shown a dangerous disdain for our institution. When Parliament asks a person to resign from a public position, the least they could do is show up to testify about what their activities have been. The Trudeau Foundation has been involved in foreign interference, and it has been subject to foreign interference, but it is not mentioned in his report.
649 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/1/23 12:05:51 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I would start by noting the original question asked in the House that has produced this follow-up at this point had nothing to do with David Johnston despite the fact the member has suddenly introduced David Johnston into the topic. He had a great display there. I am sure it will turn into a good fundraising opportunity later on.
However, let us just reflect on what is really going on in this scenario. We have the Prime Minister's last name attached to a foundation, a foundation that was created in the name of his father. It is a foundation that accepts donations, and those donations are utilized for the following.
This is straight from the Trudeau Foundation's website, which states:
Through its Scholarship, Mentorship and Fellowship programs, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation focuses on the leadership development of our Scholars.
The Foundation’s leadership program aims to empower Scholars to have meaningful impact in their institutions and communities. It does so by equipping Scholars with key leadership skills, instilling in them values crucial for Engaged Leaders, such as engagement with a plurality of perspectives, service to the community, audacity and innovation.
This is an organization that the Prime Minister has not been involved with in over a decade. Conservatives know that, but Conservatives also know there is an opportunity to jump on here in that the Prime Minister's last name is also referenced in the Trudeau Foundation.
The Conservatives would like to paint a picture that the Trudeau Foundation is some fundraising arm for individual donations, political or not, that somehow make it into the Prime Minister's own personal bank account. That could not be further from the truth. What they are trying to do here is cloud the issue and try to suggest there is some form of personal benefit to the Prime Minister, which quite frankly is not true. Everybody knows that, everybody who can look at the facts in a manner that is unbiased and does not come from this cloud of conspiracy theory we see from the other side of the House.
354 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/1/23 12:08:25 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, that was the kind of unmitigated nonsense the House has come to expect in this situation, unfortunately.
I would submit to the member he should read the annual report of the Trudeau Foundation, which notes the membership of the foundation and which notes that the Prime Minister remains a member of the foundation. It is in the last annual report. There are fewer than 30 members. A substantial number of those members are appointed by either the Trudeau family or the Minister of Industry, and this foundation received $125 million from the government.
I do not dispute the foundation aspires to provide scholarships to students, but the member should not dispute the fact there was a massive injection of foreign donations to the foundation when the government took office, and that there was a close ongoing relationship between the government, the Trudeau family and this foundation.
The core point I raised in my original question and will raise again is the following. If all this is great work, then why the secrecy? Why will the people from the Trudeau Foundation not show up? Why are Liberals filibustering our motion to try to get documents? If it is all above board, why the secrecy?
205 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/1/23 12:09:28 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, his question goes to exactly my point. He is trying to suggest that somehow this side of the House or the government could possibly answer that question. Unless we had actual involvement in the Trudeau Foundation, it would be impossible to answer that question. Nobody on this side of the House has anything to do with the Trudeau Foundation. Sorry, one person might be—
67 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/1/23 12:10:21 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, somebody might be a member of an organization but certainly not in a role to make any decisions, and that is the point that has been made repeatedly. Conservatives would like to paint the picture that the Prime Minister is involved.
He asked the question of why they will not come to committee. How on earth could I possibly answer that question when I am not involved in the Trudeau Foundation nor is anybody on this side of the House?
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
