Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Government leader, The Globe and Mail has reported extensively on the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS, documents which reveal the extent to which the Communist regime in Beijing interfered in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections — through financing, threats, intimidation, the denial of visas, disinformation campaigns and more — all to arrive at their preferred outcome of a Liberal minority government and to defeat the Conservatives.

None of this would come as a surprise to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and his office knew about it, did nothing to stop it and kept it hidden from Canadians. We all know why — it’s because he benefited from it, leader.

Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister claimed the reports about foreign interference in our election had “so many inaccuracies.” Leader, what were these inaccuracies?

Senator Plett: I was hoping that somewhere in there I would, at least, get you to allude to my question in your answer.

You say the government is taking this seriously — so seriously that the Prime Minister is refusing to answer one simple question: when?

Global News recently reported that senior staffers in the Prime Minister’s Office were briefed by CSIS — prior to the 2019 federal election — about a specific example of foreign interference by the Communist regime in Beijing. None of the responses we’ve heard from the Prime Minister have come even close to answering the serious questions posed to him about this — very similar to your answer here a minute ago.

It is shameful that his first instinct was to go after the CSIS whistle-blowers — and not the interference in our country. The Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday was completely insufficient. But he wouldn’t have said a word if reporters had not seen the CSIS documents.

Leader, when was the Prime Minister and his staff briefed by our national security agencies about these allegations of interference by the Communist Party in Beijing, and what information did they receive?