Senator Boisvenu: I find your answer rather vague. Yesterday, you were unable to provide an answer to Senator Carignan’s question. Senator Carignan pointed out that you are the Government Representative in the Senate and that you sit on the Privy Council. Why then are you unable to tell us in this chamber that the Prime Minister was never made aware of the Beijing regime’s interference in the federal election?

Senator Carignan: Leader, do you feel a little less proud when you see taxpayers’ money being invested in the Chinese social media platform TikTok to be able to gather data, especially from our young teens? Do you not see an incongruity here?

I listened to your response to the Leader of the Opposition earlier and your response now, and I see a disconnect between what you’re saying and what the government is doing. There is a growing recognition of the need for a public inquiry into Chinese interference.

Hon. Claude Carignan: My question is for the proud Government Representative in the Senate.

Leader, on February 27, the government announced with great fanfare that TikTok, the Chinese social media platform, was being banned from government devices. We all quickly removed it from our devices because of the risks it could pose.

Again, looking through the lens of Chinese interference, imagine my surprise when I learned today that the Privy Council Office has invested millions of dollars in advertising on the Chinese social network platform.

How can the government, on the one hand, encourage Canadians to stop using TikTok and then, on the other hand, invest millions of dollars in government advertising?