- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs
- Liberal
- Beauséjour
- New Brunswick
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $117,680.95
- Government Page
- May/23/24 2:27:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the question from my friend from the Bloc Québécois. I was pleased to work with him and our opposition colleagues last summer to set up the Hogue commission. He knows very well that we are committed to sharing cabinet information with the commission, at an exceptional time that does not happen very often, as we did with Mr. Johnston.
We will always be available to work with the commission so that it has access to all the appropriate documents.
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/13/23 2:35:54 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I think the Prime Minister was clear in his response to a previous question today. Our government is looking to collaborate in a constructive way with opposition parties, to hear from experts and other professionals in this space, to design precisely those next steps forward since Mr. Johnston has decided to leave his position as special rapporteur.
We think that Canadians would benefit from a collaborative conversation, one that we have always been inclined to have. We found it difficult on the other side to find a willing partner, but we are more encouraged this week than we were a week ago.
104 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/12/23 2:31:03 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we think that a discussion about issues as important as protecting Canadian democratic institutions from unacceptable foreign interference would benefit from all of us lowering the partisan temperature. That is why we believe the decision of Mr. Johnston to leave the special rapporteur role gives all of us an opportunity to discuss what the next steps are in a public process.
The opposition says it wants a public inquiry. What would be the terms of reference of that inquiry? How would they protect necessary national security information in the interests of Canada? What would be the timeline? Those are the conversations we are anxious to have.
108 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/12/23 2:26:00 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we look forward to working with our colleague from La Prairie, his leader and the other party leaders to strengthen Canadians' confidence in our democratic institutions.
Mr. Johnston's departure gives us all an opportunity to bring down the partisan temperature and discuss how we can work together on the next steps in a public process. We look forward to talking with the opposition parties to determine how we can do this in a responsible and serious way.
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/12/23 2:19:12 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the collaborative tone of the Leader of the Opposition.
From the start, we have always said that a public inquiry was a possibility. Mr. Johnston did not recommend a public inquiry and explained why. It is a difficult decision to make in the circumstances for national security reasons.
However, we look forward to working with the opposition parties to discuss the next steps of a public process, such as the type of potential inquiries, the mandate, the people who could lead this inquiry. We look forward to having these conversations.
97 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/6/23 2:43:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as everyone in the House knows, information from national security agencies must remain secret. Those circumstances exist in every one of Canada's allied countries in this important area.
The good news is that we have offered the leaders of the opposition parties, including the Bloc, access to this information and the opportunity to judge Mr. Johnston's findings for themselves. They simply prefer to play partisan games and attack Mr. Johnston instead of looking at the facts and fully understanding the reality of foreign interference.
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/6/23 2:42:31 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, how unsurprising to hear that another of my ideas has been branded a waste of time. The Bloc Québécois leader refuses to receive reliable top secret information from our intelligence agencies. Furthermore, Mr. Johnston was invited to appear before a parliamentary committee, which he did, for more than three hours, during which he was asked no questions of substance on foreign interference, but simply grilled on his integrity. In our opinion, that is the real waste of time.
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/5/23 2:39:51 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I think my Bloc Québécois friend might be confused about who kept Canadians in the dark. The Conservative Party did absolutely nothing to address foreign interference, despite the fact that our intelligence agencies raised the issue publicly in 2013. Our government did the opposite. We implemented measures to counter foreign interference. We strengthened them every time the experts advised us to do so, and we are going to do exactly the same thing when it comes to Mr. Johnston's recommendations.
88 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/5/23 2:27:22 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is well aware that the simple answer to his question is no. Mr. Johnston took the time to look at all of the documents and he interviewed a number of people who were directly involved in the matter of foreign interference. Mr. Johnston took his job seriously and worked independently to come to his findings. That is something that would also do some good in the House of Commons.
75 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/23 2:28:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am a former fisheries minister. Far be it from me to muddy any waters.
What is very clear is that our government has decided to seek the advice of an independent expert, the Right Hon. David Johnston. Next week, Mr. Johnston will be tabling his report on this very issue, an independent inquiry into foreign interference. We look forward to reading Mr. Johnston's recommendations.
I would ask the hon. member to wait until Mr. Johnston submits his report next week.
87 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/8/23 3:00:58 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is well aware, we appointed an independent special rapporteur, the Right Hon. David Johnston. He is working on this as we speak. He has been reviewing all of the issues presented by the intelligence agencies for several weeks now. He has full and free access to the necessary information. We look forward to hearing his recommendations before the end of May. They will be precisely what my colleague's question is all about.
78 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/27/23 2:28:21 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we believe, and rightly so, that Canadians trust the work of Mr. Johnston, his service to Canada in several capacities and his integrity. He will be transparent in his work as an independent special rapporteur. He is the one who will advise the government on the next steps to take to reassure Canadians that our democratic institutions are definitely protected.
We look forward to working with Mr. Johnston and sharing his recommendations with all Canadians.
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/23/23 2:56:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Montarville for his question. It gives me an opportunity to remind the House that we believe that the best way to reassure Canadians regarding the robust measures that are in place and our government's efforts to continually strengthen those measures is to have a non-partisan, facts-based discussion.
That is exactly what the Right Hon. David Johnston has already begun to do. His work is important. He will table a report before the end of May that will show us the direction to take, and we look forward to his report.
102 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/23/23 2:46:42 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows perfectly well that we believe Canadians will benefit from a non-partisan discussion based on the facts that are properly framed within institutions that we have established since we formed government, including a committee of parliamentarians with Conservative Party members.
We appointed the Right Hon. David Johnston last week to advise us on what additional measures we can take. We will of course follow Mr. Johnston's transparent and public recommendations.
78 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/23/23 2:43:03 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is fully aware that CSIS senior officials talk to federal government authorities on a regular basis to advise us on ways to strengthen our democratic institutions. That is precisely what we have been doing ever since we formed government. The appointment of the Right Hon. David Johnston is a measure that will allow us to further strengthen our democratic institutions. We have always recognized the threat of foreign interference, and we have taken measures to counter that threat.
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/23/23 2:27:31 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we fully understand the concerns of Canadians about allegations of foreign interference in our democratic institutions.
Those concerns are shared and they should be shared by all MPs in the House of Commons. They are certainly shared by our government. We have put in place robust measures to counter foreign interference, and we have strengthened those measures in recent years.
The appointment of the Right Hon. David Johnston builds on those efforts to make them even more robust.
81 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/20/23 2:32:19 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I think that all Canadians recognize Mr. Johnston's important contributions in a number of areas. Not only did he serve as governor general of Canada, but he was also the dean of a university law school. He is an eminent Canadian. He will work independently to make recommendations, look at all of the measures that we implemented as a government and make suggestions as to how we can continue to improve.
I think that my hon. colleague should recognize this important act on the part of Mr. Johnston.
92 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/20/23 2:30:50 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we obviously share the sentiments of our hon. colleague about the importance of protecting democracy and democratic institutions, as well as maintaining and strengthening the trust Canadians have in those institutions.
That is precisely what we did last week when we asked the Right Hon. David Johnston to act as an independent special rapporteur, to look at the full suite of measures that we have put in place since we formed government and to make public recommendations as to the next steps. We will obviously follow those recommendations.
92 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/20/23 2:25:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows very well that our government has always been very transparent with Canadians in the efforts we have made to counter foreign interference in our democratic institutions. It is something the Conservatives can claim to have done nothing about.
The foreign affairs minister and I were before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs last week. We were happy to answer questions. The Prime Minister took a very important step last week in announcing the Right Hon. David Johnston as an independent special rapporteur, and we look forward to implementing his recommendations on what more can be done.
106 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/20/23 2:24:14 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the opposition leader knows very well that we take foreign interference very seriously. That is why, in 2015, we put in place a number of measures that did not exist when the opposition leader was the minister responsible in previous years. We further strengthened the measures to address foreign interference.
Last week, we announced the appointment of the Right Hon. David Johnston as an independent special rapporteur. We will continue to take this situation very seriously.
78 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
