Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. As you and Senator Housakos pointed out in the context of his question and comments, there are victims in this story, and many are members of the Chinese-Canadian community who are either targeted or vilified.

My understanding is that there is actually an investigation going on with regard to at least some aspects of the disclosure of classified information, but beyond that, in response to your question, I don’t have information with regard to other steps the government may be taking.

Senator Gold: These are important issues. It is important that we, as parliamentarians, approach them in a responsible way.

Advice that is given, or information, from the security services of the Prime Minister is not something that the Prime Minister is going to divulge, and it is certainly not something that would be appropriate to divulge in this setting.

The fact is, the Prime Minister has announced that NSICOP — a committee of parliamentarians with security clearance — will be examining this issue, as they’ve examined in their important reports on foreign interference the question of the measures that are being taken by our institutions to protect ourselves. I commend to each and every senator to read the NSICOP report on foreign interference because you will see that the issue has been taken seriously by this government for a long time now.

In addition, colleagues, the imminent appointment of a special rapporteur will also have a role to play in advising the Prime Minister as to what further steps might be taken. I should add, again, that the former campaign chair of the Conservative Party recommended that the appropriate way in which to get to the bottom of this is indeed to empower NSICOP to do the work.

Senator Gold: What the Prime Minister is doing is working appropriately and responsibly to protect Canadians from foreign interference.

I will repeat, this is a serious issue. It should be dealt with responsibly, and it is not responsible to call a Prime Minister a liar. It is not responsible for the leader — someone who aspires to be Prime Minister of this country — essentially to say that the Prime Minister is working against Canadians in the service of a foreign country. That’s calling our Prime Minister a traitor and that’s reprehensible.

I accept the partisanship in Parliament, but I expect more on a serious matter.

Since we’re doing this, Senator Housakos, let us remind Canadians and senators that the accusation and the allegations of foreign interference are not new. The same person who is accusing our Prime Minister of working in the service of a foreign country and against the interests of his own country was the former minister of democratic reform, current leader of the Conservative Party. He held that position from 2013 to 2015. He was warned by CSIS and the Prime Minister’s national security adviser that Chinese interference was a problem. He did absolutely nothing. This Prime Minister is doing something and Canadians should be proud that the government is looking after its best interests.

Senator Gold: Again, I don’t have the answer, so I won’t speculate as to what the answer would be or whether it would be appropriate to release it.

Having put in place the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, NSICOP, and empowering NSIRA to provide — for the first time, really — a proper, robust review and oversight function of our security services, this government is taking more seriously the importance of civilian oversight and civilian review of our intelligence operations. I think that should give Canadians confidence that if there is wrongdoing, it is going to be explored properly by those best suited to do so.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. In fact, it is neither.

It is no secret that, over the past few years, the Chinese regime has changed both its tone and its actions toward the world.

For several decades now, Canadian governments — and not just the Liberal government, but also the Mulroney government — have hoped that the economic liberation of China and the economic rapprochement, the very integration of China into our western economy, would lead to political and democratic liberalization. These hopes have been shared by Canada’s business community as well as consumers in Canada and around the world. As the last few years have shown, unfortunately for the men, women and children of China, that has not happened.

It is not a question of complicity. I strongly reject that. Nor is it a question of naivety. One must be willing to learn and change when faced with facts and situations like the one Canada and the democratic world are experiencing right now. We are dealing with a power that has global political ambitions, which is why the Canadian government is taking meaningful action to protect us and to reassess many aspects of our relationship with China.