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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/27/22 2:44:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, neither I nor my office communicated with Mr. Brien about any aspect of this matter. I have absolutely no knowledge about that except what I have read in the papers.

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/27/22 2:43:53 p.m.
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No, Mr. Speaker.

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Hon. Bill Blair

Oct/27/22 2:42:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, the member's assertion on this matter is completely incorrect. It is not surprising that the members opposite do not actually want to hear the facts, but here they are. At no time did I or any member of our government attempt to interfere in police operations. To be very explicit and clear with words I hope the member might understand, I did not direct, I did not ask and I did not suggest to the RCMP commissioner to release information. When she testified under oath before the Mass Casualty Commission, she said, “I did not receive direction and I was not influenced by government—

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/27/22 2:42:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite's assertions are completely incorrect. The independence of police operations is a key principle in our democracy. It is one that our government deeply respects, one that I have always respected and one that I have always vigorously defended—

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/25/22 2:47:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, what is very clear is that the RCMP commissioner, in her testimony before the public safety committee and in front of the Mass Casualty Commission under oath, was very clear that there was no interference, and that I did not give her direction. In fact, she did clarify for the committee that I have always been meticulously careful in not providing her with direction. That is her testimony. My statement to the House and my testimony previously is that I did not give her any direction on any operational matter.

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/25/22 2:46:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been clear, explicit and unequivocal that at no time did I give direction to the RCMP to interfere with operations. I will simply quote the commissioner's testimony before committee and the Mass Casualty Commission, in which she said, “I did not receive direction and I was not influenced by government officials regarding the public release of information [or] on the direction of the investigation.” That is the commissioner's testimony, and it coincides precisely with my statement that no direction was given.

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/25/22 2:45:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is free to engage in any speculation and even fabrication that she wishes, although I would suggest that she might be somewhat more circumspect when she steps out of the House and makes such spurious allegations. Let me repeat: I did not direct the commissioner of the RCMP in any operational matter. The commissioner has confirmed that in her testimony before committee and under oath before the Mass Casualty Commission. The matter is settled.

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/25/22 2:44:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we have said a number of times in this House, the independence of police operations underpins the rule of law. This is a principle that I have not only always respected but one which I have defended vigorously for decades. To be clear and explicit to everyone in this House, as I have been many times, I did not direct the commissioner of the RCMP in any operational matter, including in the release of information pertaining to the firearms used in this tragedy. Further, the commissioner herself has testified a number of times that there was no interference.

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Hon. Bill Blair

Oct/24/22 2:45:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have stated, the independence of police operations underpins the rule of law. This is not only a principle I have always respected, but it is a principle that I have vigorously defended over decades. I say once again to the House that at no time did I direct the commissioner of the RCMP in any operational matter. She was not directed by me to release information. It was not asked of her. It was not suggested to her. The commissioner herself has confirmed in sworn testimony before the Mass Casualty Commission that there was no interference.

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/24/22 2:45:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the independence of police operations is not only a principle I have always respected, but it is also one that I have vigorously defended for decades. I can assure the House, as I have done previously and today— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/24/22 2:43:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, in these circumstances, it is apparent that the member opposite's reach exceeds his grasp. The simple truth is that at no time was any direction given by me. Under Canadian law, the RCMP Act, the only person authorized to give direction to the RCMP is the minister of public safety. I held that role at the time. I respected the principle underlying the rule of law that politics will not interfere with police operations. At no time did I give that direction. Those are the facts as I have testified and as the commissioner of the RCMP has confirmed.

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/24/22 2:42:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the House, the member opposite is quite free to engage in any speculation or fabrication she may wish. However, to be clear, subclause 5(1) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act provides for the direction of the minister, but equally clear is that our government recognizes and respects that police independence underpins the rule of law and ministerial direction cannot infringe on the independence of the RCMP. I did not at any time give direction. The testimony I gave before the commission was entirely the truth. It was the whole truth and nothing but the truth, as I have repeated here today.

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Oct/24/22 2:41:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the member opposite is simply wrong. The independence of police operations underpins the rule of law, and it is a principle that I have no only respected, but also defended vigorously for decades. To be very clear, as I have testified before committee, and as I have said in this House, I did not at any time direct the commissioner of the RCMP in any operational matter, including on the release of information. I did not direct her. I did not ask her. I did not even suggest that she do so. As the commissioner herself has confirmed in her testimony before the Mass Casualty Commission, she did not receive direction from me and was not influenced by our government regarding the public release of information.

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Jun/23/22 3:11:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would state that any criticism of Superintendent Campbell is crass political self-interest from the member opposite. There has been no criticism of Superintendent Campbell, just a simple statement of fact. The simple statement of fact is that there was no interference in this case. The commissioner has confirmed it. There was no interference, no pressure, no promise. Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Jun/23/22 3:10:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we make no comment whatsoever on a conversation between the commissioner and her subordinates. I have no reason to, and I will not question, and have not questioned, the superintendent's integrity. I would remind my colleagues that there is an independent public inquiry currently under way in Nova Scotia, the Mass Casualty Commission. The issues of how communications were done are being addressed, and witnesses will be called to testify under oath. The Mass Casualty Commission and its work are important to victims' families in Nova Scotia, and we support its important work.

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Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Jun/23/22 3:09:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe we will not find a former police officer who speaks ill of him either, and I am not speaking ill of him in any way. I would point members to the commissioner's statement, in which she said, “It is important to note that the sharing of information and briefings with the Minister of Public Safety are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting [event]”. She also said, “I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected”. There was no interference in this case.

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