- Member of Parliament
- Minister of National Defence
- Liberal
- Scarborough Southwest
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $115,019.32
- Government Page
- Oct/31/22 2:44:24 p.m.
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On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, I have risen in the House a number of times and simply repeated the truth to the members. I am not going to speculate on a conversation of which I was not a party.
I can simply advise the House that at no time did I direct, ask or even suggest to the commissioner of the RCMP that she should release any information pertaining to this investigation. Under oath before the Mass Casualty Commission, the commissioner has confirmed that she was not directed by me or any government official on the release of information or in the conduct of the investigation. Those are simply the facts.
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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- Jun/23/22 2:49:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy for the opportunity to explain to the member that neither the Prime Minister's Office nor the Minister of Public Safety's office had any role in interfering or pressuring the RCMP to make any operational decisions with respect to the investigation or with respect to RCMP communications around the investigation.
We did hear very serious criticism and concern by the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy and by Nova Scotians across the province with respect to the communications that took place during this event and after, and that is precisely why we have tasked the Mass Casualty Commission with looking very specifically at the communications that took place both during and after this event, because those families deserve—
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- Jun/23/22 2:47:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, histrionics aside, I would direct the members to the commissioner's statement from Tuesday, in which she makes it very clear that there was no interference.
However, I remind this House that Canadians, including those who were directly impacted by this tragedy, expressed very serious concerns about how and when the RCMP shared information with the public. In response to the concerns expressed by the victims and families in this terrible tragedy, our government specified in the order of reference to the Mass Casualty Commission that it examine the communications approach taken both during and after this event. That commission will hear testimony under oath, and its findings will be important in providing accurate information to the families in this terrible tragedy.
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- Jun/23/22 2:31:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that I have already stated unequivocally that there was no interference in this matter, and I would refer the member to the commissioner's statement, in which she also stated unequivocally that there was no interference or pressure.
Canadians, including those who were directly impacted by this terrible tragedy, have expressed concerns about when and how the RCMP shared information with the public, and that is precisely why the government specified in the order of reference that the Mass Casualty Commission examine the communications approach taken both during and after this event. The work of the Mass Casualty Commission is important.
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- Jun/23/22 2:24:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course I will not because it would not be true. There was no interference in this matter.
I would also take the opportunity to remind the House that there is currently an independent public inquiry taking place in Nova Scotia: In the Mass Casualty Commission, these very matters are being addressed. Witnesses will be called to testify under oath. The work of the Mass Casualty Commission is important to the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy and important to the people of Nova Scotia. We intend to support the commission in doing its important work.
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- Jun/22/22 2:47:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, I would advise the members that there was no interference. At no point did our government pressure or interfere in the operational decisions of the RCMP. This has been very clearly articulated in the commissioner's statements from yesterday.
Let me also add that Canadians, including those who were directly impacted by this tragedy, have expressed great concern about how and when the RCMP shared information with the public. That is precisely why we specified in the order of reference for the Mass Casualty Commission that it examine the communications approach taken both during and after the event. That is the work of the Mass Casualty Commission. That is the work we will depend upon.
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- Jun/21/22 3:09:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times already today, and I will say again, no one told the RCMP commissioner or gave her any direction or exerted any pressure.
The conversations that the commissioner has with her subordinates in her organization is entirely independent of government, and the commissioner is doing her job, but she has already confirmed for the Mass Casualty Commission, a public inquiry intended to get to the facts of this matter, that no such direction was given by any member of this government.
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- Jun/21/22 3:06:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, the answer is no one. Second, perhaps the member opposite is not aware that the Commissioner of the RCMP is the Commissioner of the RCMP and does not require any authorization from anyone else to speak to her own organization. What is also clear, and what the commissioner has made very clear to the Mass Casualty Commission, is that no pressure, no direction and no orders were given to her by any member of this government about doing the job of running her organization.
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- Jun/21/22 2:56:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to confirm that no one in the Prime Minister's Office or in the public safety office exerted any pressure or direction on the commissioner of the RCMP. The commissioner of the RCMP engaged with our officials, and she has already confirmed for the Mass Casualty Commission that no such direction or pressure was ever given by any member of this government.
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- Jun/21/22 2:55:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to advise this House that this matter was dealt with a number of months ago. The commissioner of the RCMP has confirmed for the Mass Casualty Commission that no such direction or pressure was ever exerted by me or any other member of this government. Among the important work of the Mass Casualty Commission is to examine the important communication challenges that were evident during this tragic event.
We look forward to fact-based findings and recommendations for improvement.
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- Jun/21/22 2:54:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to advise this House that this issue has already been dealt with by the Mass Casualty Commission. The commissioner of the RCMP has confirmed for the commission that no such direction or pressure was ever exerted by me or by any other member of this government. Among the important work of the Mass Casualty Commission is examining a number of the significant communication challenges that that event involved—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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