- 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
- Feb/12/24 3:00:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague refers to the work of a parliamentary committee. As I said in the previous answer, our government has collaborated at all times with the parliamentary committee.
The president of the Canada Border Services Agency, at my suggestion, sent a copy of the preliminary internal audit to the committee. The Conservative chair decided not to share it with the members, because it might somehow prevent them from asking a series of partisan questions to bureaucrats who were there to appear before the committee.
We have been transparent and will continue to be at all times.
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- Jun/13/23 2:42:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a bit rich for the Conservatives to talk about partisanship in their question. It was the Conservatives who decided to turn an issue as important as protecting our democratic institutions from foreign interference into a partisan issue. Moreover, when they were in government, they did nothing to counter the interference threatening our institutions at the time.
We have taken action, we will continue to do so, and we hope to have their co-operation.
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- Jun/12/23 2:26:00 p.m.
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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.
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- Jun/6/23 2:43:48 p.m.
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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.
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- May/30/23 2:40:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since forming government in 2015, we have taken the threat of foreign interference seriously.
We were the first government to put in place a suite of non-partisan measures precisely to strengthen our ability to respond to interference in our democratic institutions and also to inform parliamentarians about threats to democratic institutions and what the government is doing to counter them. I think the member will be happy if she talks to her colleagues who sit on these parliamentary committees.
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- May/30/23 2:35:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what was truly exposed for all to see was the Leader of the Opposition's credibility when he refused the government's offer to grant him access to highly sensitive information.
He decided he would rather play partisan politics on an issue as critical as protecting our democratic institutions from foreign interference than get the facts so he could speak publicly and coherently based on the facts, instead of simply spouting partisan accusations.
This is what was exposed. My colleague must be a little disappointed in his leader.
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- May/29/23 2:42:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps my colleague opposite should consult his former boss, Mr. Harper, the former Conservative prime minister of Canada, who asked this individual, Mr. Johnston, to serve not only as the Governor General of Canada, but also as an adviser to the former Conservative government about an issue as important as a public inquiry into the Airbus situation.
If they were confident that this individual had sufficient judgment carry out those duties, I think it is unfortunate that they have lost that confidence for partisan reasons.
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- May/29/23 2:28:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I once again encourage the leader of the Bloc Québécois to accept the government's offer to access the most sensitive and specific details that Mr. Johnston and the committee of parliamentarians, which includes a representative from the Bloc Québécois and from each of the other opposition parties, had access to. I would encourage him to access all that information and get all the facts before coming to unfounded partisan conclusions.
This is a serious matter that requires a serious response. I invite the Bloc Québécois to do exactly that.
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- Mar/27/23 3:11:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has said that we have consistently taken these issues of foreign interference seriously. We have put in place a series robust steps.
We also think this discussion merits a non-partisan fact-based focus. That is why we think the appointment of the Right Hon. David Johnston offers all of us an opportunity to look at the issues, to have a fact-based conversation about what additional steps our government could take. That is the best way to ensure that this process has integrity, and that is the process we are going to be following.
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- Mar/23/23 2:58:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my friend from Montarville is fully aware of the efforts made by our government to build non-partisan institutions, for example a committee of parliamentarians to examine national security issues. In fact, my colleague sits on this important committee of parliamentarians.
It is one of the many forums that allow for informed and non-partisan discussion based on the facts. This helps reassure Canadians that we will always take these issues seriously and that we have measures in place to counter foreign interference.
We will stay the course.
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- Mar/23/23 2:56:36 p.m.
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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.
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- Mar/23/23 2:52:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we think what erodes Canadians' confidence is the continued attempt to seek partisan advantage from what is a very serious national security issue, one that our government has taken very seriously.
Autocratic regimes around the world, including China, want to weaken democratic institutions in countries like Canada. These kinds of irresponsible partisan discussions do not advance the interests of ensuring that Canadians have confidence in their democratic institutions. There are non-partisan fact-based ways to get these answers and this reassurance. That is exactly what our government is doing.
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- Mar/23/23 2:46:42 p.m.
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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.
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- Mar/23/23 2:36:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to answer the question from my colleague from Miramichi—Grand Lake in New Brunswick. As has been said on many occasions in the House, we think Canadians benefit from a non-partisan, fact-based conversation about these very serious issues.
We know the Conservative Party is seeking to turn this issue into a partisan circus. What we are trying to do is reassure Canadians that we have a robust system to protect our democratic institutions. Our government has taken these allegations seriously since we formed office, and the right honourable David Johnston is the right person to give us ideas on the next steps to—
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- Mar/23/23 2:30:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we obviously share the leader of the NDP's concern about the importance of not stigmatizing communities in Canada.
I think all members of the House know that our government wants to have a respectful non-partisan, fact-based conversation around these allegations and around how we can work together to further reinforce our democratic institutions to ensure that foreign interference is something that is always countered by the government. It is something we have done since we formed the government and it is something we will continue to do to ensure Canadians can have confidence in our democracy.
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- Mar/7/23 2:29:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we did not need another reason to see that the Leader of the Opposition has never taken this issue seriously.
In fact, yesterday, he said something that was shocking. When I pointed out to him that this had existed as a challenge to Canadian democratic institutions, including when he served as minister of democratic reform, he said that of course the previous Conservative government did nothing about it because it was not to its partisan advantage to do anything about it.
Let us think about that. Protecting our democracy is not a partisan issue; it is a Canadian issue.
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- Mar/6/23 2:28:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that this should be a non-partisan issue, because we all have an interest in protecting and strengthening our democratic institutions.
Our government has introduced a series of robust measures that were assessed by independent experts following the last two federal elections. The good news is that we are always looking for additional measures that we can bring in with the support, I hope, of all parliamentarians in order to strengthen our democratic system.
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