44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 19, 2023 10:00AM
- Sep/19/23 8:46:50 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleague from Surrey—Newton for his heartfelt speech. It definitely struck a chord with me.
I know that the member has shown great leadership in his community and in his riding, since this incident occurred there. The particular part in his speech that struck a chord was about discrediting the community. I know that the Minister of Emergency Preparedness talked about this today in an earlier statement as well, how the community is often discredited when it speaks and is asked about its political allegiances to this country or another.
Could the member shed some more light on that?
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- Sep/19/23 8:54:18 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I can understand that there is a lot of concern and confusion right now, and a lot of questions are being raised, but I also want to point out the fact that a take-note debate is for us to raise our concerns in this House, any questions we may have and the things we want to see happen in the future. What I am looking forward to seeing is the public inquiry that will be taking place, which will be led by Justice Hogue. I am happy to say that the scope of that inquiry has been expanded thanks to our government and the support from the NDP. We know the Conservatives were fixed on just setting down the issue of China.
I want to know how the member feels about having a broader scope to make sure that all Canadians are protected and that our democratic institutions are safe from harm from the many countries out there that seek to attack Canada.
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- Sep/19/23 9:20:44 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am thankful for the opportunity to address the issue that was brought to light in this very House yesterday. It is the issue of credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of Mr. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen murdered on Canadian soil. This is an unacceptable violation of sovereignty and international law. I want to provide my sincerest condolences to Mr. Nijjar's family and friends and the Sikh community at large.
The Prime Minister brought this issue to light because our government remains committed to combatting foreign interference and to protecting Canadians and communities targeted by foreign state actors. We are taking leadership in safeguarding our democratic institutions and protecting our sovereignty. This will never change.
The RCMP and our security agencies are aware of foreign interference in Canada and are leveraging all tools at their disposal. We are also working closely with our democratic international partners and will continue to share as much information as possible with Canadians.
It is within the RCMP's mandate to investigate criminal or illegal activities occurring in Canada that are found to be backed by a foreign state actor, and it currently has over 100 investigations looking into foreign interference activities. The Government of Canada is aware that certain foreign governments have attempted to threaten and intimidate individuals in Canada or their relatives abroad. We take this issue very seriously, and we look forward to the expanded mandate given to the public inquiry led by Justice Hogue exploring this issue more in depth, despite the Conservatives only wanting the focus to be on China. Seeing their absence in the House for this debate tonight and the Conservative—
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- Sep/19/23 9:23:21 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, you are right, but it does sadden me to hear the silence in this chamber from Conservative voices tonight and the walking back of their leader's statement this morning.
This past year, we have been talking a lot about foreign interference, the safety of Canadians and the integrity of our institutions. It is unfortunate that we do not have a partner in the Conservative Party when it comes to making sure that all Canadians are safe and that we are looking into the actions of all foreign governments.
Since coming into office, our government has taken robust action to safeguard our democracy and institutions against foreign interference by investing in the RCMP to better protect Canadians from harassment and intimidation, increasing its investigative capacity and more proactively engaging with communities at risk of being targeted. We are creating a foreign agents registry, and through Public Safety Canada we are also establishing a national counter-foreign interference office to coordinate our efforts.
Members can rest assured that where there is evidence of state-backed harassment or intimidation, CSIS and the RCMP apply the full measures of their mandates to investigate these threats. I will also reiterate that if a member of the public suspects criminal foreign interference activities that do not pose an immediate threat to life, they should report them to the RCMP or CSIS through phone and online reporting channels, including the national security information network web portal. The Government of Canada is working diligently every day to keep Canadians safe using the full extent of our national security and intelligence agencies.
Finally, I know that many Canadians, especially those of Indo-Canadian descent, are feeling deeply concerned over the revelations that were brought to light yesterday. I have received many calls from people in my riding of Brampton North, and I have been saddened to hear from so many that they are not surprised, as they have long suspected and feared the reach of the Indian government outside of its borders.
This is a sad reality, but our government has made it clear that we will not tolerate it, and our top priority will continue to be the safety of Canadians and that all steps be taken by law enforcement to hold the perpetrators to account. This news should not in any way be seen as an attack against one community or an endorsement of another. We must all work together and call for justice. We call on the Indian government to co-operate with the investigation so that we can have further transparency and so that justice can be served.
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- Sep/19/23 9:26:53 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, this is an interesting question. I think I am maybe at liberty to speak to it. As far as I was aware, all members originally were participating in the House. Perhaps there has been a sudden change of heart. I do not know why that is.
There were a few other things I wanted to say, especially to Canadians who are watching today. I want to remind them they are a peace-loving people and I want to remind them to stay calm and steadfast in our commitment to diversity, religious freedom, democracy and the rule of law. That is so important as we have this conversation and as events continue to unfold in the coming weeks and months.
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- Sep/19/23 9:28:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is something that, being born and raised here in Canada myself, I have struggled with. I know many around me have, and there are many in our caucus who have shared these types of sentiments. It is unfortunate, and it saddens me greatly to hear that even today there are members of our Canadian society who feel they are looked upon as less than. I want to say to them that they are Canadian and that this government will always stand for their rights and their freedoms in this country, and their right to be treated as an equal Canadian, as all others.
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- Sep/19/23 9:30:41 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the member for Waterloo is definitely an excellent Chair of the procedure and House affairs committee. She has led that committee through many challenges we as members face and that Canadians look to us to overcome.
Within that committee, we talked quite a lot about this issue. We had witnesses appear before committee who told us there are many actors involved in foreign interference in Canada and that those include countries like Iran, China, Russia and others. They stated “and others” many times, and I pressed those witnesses to explain which other countries those were. In our deliberations, we constantly came back to China being the only concern that particularly the Conservative Party had, but now it goes to show we must be concerned about all foreign state actors in order to protect all Canadians and to protect our institutions to the greatest extent possible.
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