44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 29, 2024 10:00AM
- Feb/29/24 2:33:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the health minister should actually read the CSIS document that describes all the breaches that were made and the espionage that was carried out.
At the Prime Minister's top public health lab in Canada, Beijing military scientist Dr. Yan was given unfettered access to all the labs and the computer systems at the Winnipeg lab, which were covertly shared by Dr. Qiu with Beijing. Instead of stopping this espionage, the Prime Minister decided to cover it up.
Why did the Prime Minister put his admiration for the basic dictatorship of the Communist Party in Beijing ahead of the public safety of Canadians?
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- Feb/29/24 2:34:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to step back and really consider what the Conservative Party is saying here.
At the time they were hired, these two Canadian citizens were eminent scientists who were well published and well regarded throughout North America. The fact that they lied and misrepresented themselves is reprehensible—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/29/24 2:34:24 p.m.
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I will ask the member for Miramichi—Grand Lake to please keep his comments to himself. He will have the floor when he asks a question.
The hon. Minister of Health.
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- Feb/29/24 2:34:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would hope they are not suggesting that, if they had been in power, they would have interfered politically, and been able, through clairvoyance, to know that these eminent scientists, who at that point in time we had no reason to believe were anything other than Canadian scientists who were doing good research, and gotten rid of them before this happened.
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- Feb/29/24 2:35:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we read the documents concerning Winnipeg's National Microbiology Laboratory, and the worst is confirmed: There was indeed infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party.
Based on its own assessment, the Liberal government allowed a person who is “a very serious danger and a realistic and credible threat to Canada's economic security” to access and compromise the level 4 lab.
Will the Prime Minister admit that he is trying to protect himself instead of Canadians?
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- Feb/29/24 2:35:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when China, Russia or any other country threatens Canada, it is an attack on our democracy, on the House of Commons and on every member here. That worries me a great deal.
That is why we have put in place policies to further strengthen public safety and to ensure that national security is not compromised.
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- Feb/29/24 2:36:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, does the minister know that the Prime Minister has said that he admires China's basic dictatorship?
Does he also know that the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is working on some of the most dangerous viruses in the world and that the scientist who was fired shared sensitive intellectual property and dangerous pathogens, such as the Ebola genetic sequence, with the Chinese Communist Party?
Does the Prime Minister understand that he put our national and economic security in jeopardy?
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- Feb/29/24 2:36:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what Canadians watching at home are seeing today is deplorable. National security should not be a partisan issue.
We have no lessons to learn from the Conservatives when it comes to protecting national security in research and science in Canada. Our government has done more than any other to protect science, to protect intellectual property, to help our universities and our research centres by identifying security risks.
In January, we published a list that tells research institutes not to do business with entities that might act to the detriment of the Government of Canada.
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- Feb/29/24 2:37:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, is the minister aware that, on March 31, 2019, the Ebola and Nipah viruses were sent to Beijing on Air Canada? Does the minister know that?
Does he know that viruses that are used as weapons of war were sent to a country that is building an arsenal of biological weapons? We know that Dr. Qiu conducted joint research with Major-General Chen Wei of China's People's Liberation Army.
Does the Prime Minister realize that his government screwed up by helping a country that is developing biological weapons and putting people in danger?
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- Feb/29/24 2:38:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, instead of talking about the facts, what the opposition Conservatives are trying to do today is politicize national security. I think Canadians' health and safety is the primary responsibility of every MP here.
As I said in January, we have published a list of entities that Canadian research centres should avoid doing business with in the interest of protecting national security and intellectual property. Everyone watching knows that we will always be there to protect Canada's national security.
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- Feb/29/24 2:38:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Quebec Court of Appeal has clearly ruled that Bill 21 is constitutional and does not pose a problem. It recognizes the right of Quebeckers to adopt rules to ensure the secular nature of the Quebec state. The matter is closed, unless Ottawa and a few opponents decide to continue challenging it.
What will the Liberal government choose? Will it respect the will of Quebeckers and the Court of Appeal ruling, or will it pick a fight with Quebec again?
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- Feb/29/24 2:39:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that our government is firmly committed to defending the rights and freedoms protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the right to freedom of expression and religion and the right to equality.
Our government has clearly expressed serious concerns about the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause on a number of occasions as well. If this case goes to the Supreme Court, we will be there to intervene.
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- Feb/29/24 2:39:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, respecting the charter is a good thing. Respecting court decisions would also be a good thing.
Despite what the Liberals say, there is nothing wrong with Bill 21. It is constitutional and absolutely legitimate. It is one of the pillars supporting the kind of peaceful co-existence that Quebeckers want. Five years on, we see, as the courts see, that everything is fine and that the Liberals' fears were unfounded.
Will the government respect the Court of Appeal's decision and promise to hold off from directly or indirectly challenging Bill 21?
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- Feb/29/24 2:40:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister and I have already said, our government is committed to defending the rights and freedoms protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the right to freedom of expression and religion and the right to equality.
We have also said on a number of occasions that our government has clearly expressed serious concerns about the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause. If this case goes to the Supreme Court, our government will intervene.
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- Feb/29/24 2:40:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing. The Liberals want secularism to be odourless, colourless and tasteless. They want Quebeckers to adopt a secularism that means nothing and is inconsequential.
However, the separation of church and state does mean something. It means that every single person's beliefs and non-beliefs will never interfere in their interactions with the state. That is the purpose of Bill 21, and it has real implications that may require the use of the notwithstanding clause. The Court of Appeal recognized that.
Will the government acknowledge that the use of the notwithstanding clause in the case of Bill 21 is not only constitutional, but entirely legitimate?
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- Feb/29/24 2:41:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister and I have said, we are firmly committed to defending the rights and freedoms protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the right to freedom of expression and religion and the right to equality.
We have also said on a number of occasions that we have serious concerns about the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause. If this case goes to the Supreme Court, our government will be there to intervene.
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- Feb/29/24 2:42:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the cover-up. For three years, the Prime Minister covered up a terrifying national security breach at Canada's highest-security lab, hiding the fact that the head of special pathogens was actively collaborating with top Beijing military scientists engaged in biodefence and bioterrorism.
In the face of that, will the Prime Minister accept responsibility for this colossal failure on his watch?
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- Feb/29/24 2:42:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have answered that question on numerous occasions, but let me address the proposition at the start of that question when the member said we are working together with another political party. He does not want to do that, and I get it. He is used to making partisan points and not reaching across the aisle to collaborate.
What happens when we collaborate and work together? We get national pharmacare. We get the ability to say to those who have diabetes that we have their backs and they would have medication. We get to say to women that we are going to give them real freedom, freedom over their sexuality and freedom over their reproductive rights. That is what happens when members stop focusing on partisan politics and start focusing on results.
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- Feb/29/24 2:43:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what a disgraceful answer from the minister.
A national security culture begins at the top with the Prime Minister. This is a Prime Minister who said that he admires Beijing's basic dictatorship. This is a Prime Minister who, over the past eight years, has repeatedly ignored Beijing's interference. In the face of that, is it any wonder that, under the Prime Minister's watch, top Beijing military scientists had unfettered access to some of Canada's most sensitive biological secrets?
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- Feb/29/24 2:44:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the first order, that is not true. What is true is that the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is one of the most respected agencies in the world, and which was there for us throughout the pandemic, is entirely responsible for its operations.
The truth is that there were two individuals hired. They were Canadian citizens, eminent scientists, who were well known and well respected across Canada and around the world, who lied to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada then took the very responsible action of firing those individuals and turning the matter over to the RCMP. They are currently under investigation.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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