- Member of Parliament
- Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council
- Conservative
- St. Albert—Edmonton
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $119,185.60
- Government Page
- May/29/24 5:27:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think our allies have increasingly become concerned that this country has been subjected to interference by the Beijing-based regime. In fact last week the U.S. Congress was scrutinizing the alarming national security breach at the Winnipeg lab, where agents of Beijing infiltrated our highest-security lab under the current government's watch. It was a massive national security failure that has drawn international concern.
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- May/29/24 5:25:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we will look at the bill and we will scrutinize it, but on the whole, the measures are welcome. However, that does not take away the fact that the bill has come too late. It has come as a result of the government's dragging its feet for years. The best that can be said of the Prime Minister, in terms of how he and his government have responded to foreign interference, is that he has been asleep at the switch. However, it may be worse, because there is evidence that at times the Prime Minister has been complicit; he has gone along with Beijing's interference because it has benefited the Liberal Party, and that is really quite disgraceful.
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- Feb/29/24 2:43:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what a disgraceful answer from the minister.
A national security culture begins at the top with the Prime Minister. This is a Prime Minister who said that he admires Beijing's basic dictatorship. This is a Prime Minister who, over the past eight years, has repeatedly ignored Beijing's interference. In the face of that, is it any wonder that, under the Prime Minister's watch, top Beijing military scientists had unfettered access to some of Canada's most sensitive biological secrets?
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- Mar/22/23 6:18:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my hon. colleague.
He highlights to what degree the Liberal government has turned a blind eye to Beijing's interference, not only in our elections but also in other aspects. These include interference in our sovereignty, such as by opening up at least seven illegal police stations under the Liberal government's watch. Chinese Canadian citizens are being intimidated and harassed.
What has happened? What have the Liberals done? No charges have been laid. No diplomats have been expelled. The best that the foreign affairs minister could say is that one diplomat's visa was denied. That is it. That is not a government that takes Beijing's interference seriously.
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- Mar/22/23 6:15:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, Conservatives have been very clear that Beijing's election interference did not impact the overall election result in 2019 or 2021, but Beijing's interference may have had an impact in some ridings. If it had an impact on any riding, that is alarming; it is a matter of national concern, and it needs to be addressed. However, the Prime Minister has been entirely unwilling to do this; instead, he is dodging, deflecting and covering up.
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- Mar/21/23 2:36:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister was frequently briefed about Beijing's election interference. In the face of that, this is what a CSIS whistle-blower wrote in The Globe and Mail: “Months passed, and then years. The threat grew in urgency; serious action remained unforthcoming.” That is an indictment of the record of the Prime Minister.
Beijing interfered in two elections under the Prime Minister's watch and he turned a blind eye to it. Why?
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- Mar/20/23 2:49:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, three times, the Liberals and their NDP coalition partner blocked the Prime Minister's chief of staff from testifying about Beijing's election interference. Now, at the direction of the Prime Minister, Liberal MPs have been filibustering my straightforward motion for Telford to appear for nearly 24 hours.
Why have the Liberals gone to such lengths to shield Telford? What does she know that the Prime Minister wants hidden from Canadians?
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- Mar/20/23 12:22:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, first, I associate myself with the comments by the member for Edmonton Strathcona regarding the horrific killing of two great Edmonton police constables, constables Jordan and Ryan. My thoughts and prayers are with their families and the entire Edmonton Police Service. It illustrates how the men and women in law enforcement put their lives on the line every single day. Constables Ryan and Jordan did just that, and they will always be remembered for their service to protect our community in Edmonton.
I acknowledge that foreign interference from Russia, Iran and other countries, other bad actors, is a real problem. However, we have very specific reports of very specific interference in two very specific federal elections, and we need to get to the bottom of these issues. The way to do that is to have a focused study at a parliamentary committee that can call witnesses to get the answers Canadians deserve That includes a full and independent public inquiry, not the smokescreen the Prime Minister has offered to cover up the truth.
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- Mar/6/23 2:46:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Conservatives have tried to bring the Prime Minister's chief of staff to testify at committee three times. The Liberals, with the support of the NDP, blocked that effort three times, despite scandalous reports that senior PMO officials had been briefed by CSIS about Beijing's interference and did nothing about it.
Is the Prime Minister shielding his chief of staff because he knows his PMO turned a blind eye to Beijing's interference?
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- Dec/13/22 6:50:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, no one is contesting that the 2019 election was anything other than free and fair overall, but that does not take away the fact that there was a reported campaign of interference by Beijing. It does not take away the fact that the PCO intelligence assessment secretariat determined there to be an active foreign interference network involving Beijing in the 2019 election, and it does not take away the fact that candidates and riding associations are being targeted by foreign interference.
What is undermining Canadians' confidence in our elections and their integrity are the non-answers provided by the government. When is it going to be transparent?
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- Dec/5/22 2:43:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, was the Prime Minister briefed about Beijing's election interference involving 11 candidates? The Prime Minister has been repeatedly asked this question and he has not answered it. He hides behind carefully crafted words such as saying he was not briefed about candidates receiving money from China, but that is not the question.
When will the Prime Minister stop his stonewalling, stop his word parsing and tell us what he knows about Beijing's election interference?
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- Dec/2/22 11:50:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister has repeatedly cited national security as a pretext to avoid answering basic questions about Beijing's election interference. This is exactly the opposite of the advice he received from CSIS, which said that the government's policy in combatting foreign interference should be grounded in transparency and sunlight and that foreign interference should be exposed to the public.
Why does the Prime Minister refuse to follow the advice of CSIS?
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- Nov/30/22 7:06:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, no one is questioning the overall integrity of the last two elections. That is not the issue.
There is a specific report of specific interference involving 11 candidates, and it was further reported that the Prime Minister was briefed about that interference. It is important that the Prime Minister be transparent. That was the advice he had received from CSIS. I do not understand why the parliamentary secretary is unwilling to answer that very straightforward question, so I will ask it again.
Was the Prime Minister briefed about electoral interference by Beijing last January, and specifically in respect of candidates?
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- Nov/30/22 6:59:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, CSIS advised the Prime Minister that when it comes to foreign interference, the policy of the government should be grounded in transparency and sunlight, and that foreign interference should be exposed to the public. When it comes to Beijing's interference in our elections, the Prime Minister has been anything but transparent. Let us look at the facts.
On November 7, Global News reported that last January, the Prime Minister was briefed about a vast campaign of interference by Beijing in the 2019 election directed by Beijing's Toronto consulate involving 11 candidates. For two weeks, Conservatives asked the government what the Prime Minister did with that information. Did he report it to Elections Canada, to law enforcement, or did he sit on his hands and cover it up?
For two weeks our questions were met with silence by the Prime Minister. Suddenly, after two weeks, the Prime Minister broke his silence and essentially said “nothing to see here as it pertains to me,” claiming that he was not briefed, but using very carefully chosen words that he was not briefed about candidates receiving money from China. That is not what Global News reported on November 7 that the Prime Minister was briefed about. The Prime Minister was reportedly briefed about a vast campaign of interference by Beijing, directed by the Toronto consulate. It was reported that those candidates received money but, again, it was never alleged that that money directly came from China, that a cheque was written from China to 11 candidates.
It was telling yesterday when the Leader of the Opposition asked a pertinent question of the Prime Minister: Was he briefed about electoral interference by Beijing? Not once, not twice but on five occasions, the Prime Minister refused to answer. Today I asked the Prime Minister whether he had been briefed about electoral interference by Beijing specifically involving any candidates. Again, the report pertains to 11 candidates and a vast campaign of interference. Again, there was no answer from the Prime Minister.
What we have is the opposite of transparency. We have a smokescreen from the Prime Minister, a prime minister who is answering questions no one is asking, denying allegations no one is making, all while avoiding answering the question that needs to be answered, namely, was the Prime Minister briefed about electoral interference by Beijing? Specifically, was the Prime Minister briefed about electoral interference by Beijing involving candidates? I ask again, was he, yes or no?
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- Nov/30/22 2:56:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a specific question for the Prime Minister. It is not about money from China. It is not about the government's election panels. It is not about the overall integrity of the last two elections. It is specifically about whether the Prime Minister was ever briefed about interference by Beijing involving any candidates or riding associations. Was he briefed?
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- Nov/17/22 2:46:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, hundreds of thousands of dollars were directed and funnelled by Beijing to 11 candidates. If that is not foreign interference, I do not know what is.
Talk about a non-answer. I asked a specific question about whether the Prime Minister acted or failed to act.
Again, upon being briefed by CSIS, did the Prime Minister report this illegal activity to Elections Canada, yes or no?
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