- 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
- Jun/10/24 2:51:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier in question period, our government has always collaborated with the Hogue commission, and senior public servants who are responsible for decisions around redactions work collaboratively and constructively at all times.
As I said, obviously the government will ensure that the Hogue commission has access to all the documents necessary to do the important work that we have asked it to do. That has been our position since we created the Hogue commission and that will continue to be the work we will do.
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- Jun/10/24 2:30:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, our government is always working to protect democratic institutions and to strengthen the measures needed to ensure the integrity of our electoral process.
Law enforcement and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service are always on the job and they take their responsibilities seriously. I have full confidence in our national security agencies, and I have full confidence in the Hogue commission, which is looking at the exact scenario my colleague was talking about.
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- Jun/10/24 2:29:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, the most important responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens. Far from not taking this matter seriously, our government has been the only government in the history of Canada to set up a series of measures to detect, to disrupt and to prevent foreign interference.
We are very pleased that members of the House are working collaboratively to support government legislation before the House right now to give additional tools, to create additional criminal offences and to hold those to account who might seek to interfere in our democratic institutions. We will continue to always do this important work.
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- Jun/10/24 2:28:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, absolutely, the answer is yes. As I said, senior officials at the Privy Council already initiated that discussion with the Hogue commission on the weekend.
We will always be there to ensure that the Hogue commission has everything it needs to shed light on this situation.
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- Jun/10/24 2:27:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have good news. The work I did with my colleague and the other House leaders last summer has resulted in the Hogue commission.
We believe that the terms of reference we negotiated with our friend from La Prairie allows the commission to do precisely the work that the Bloc Québécois motion calls for.
We will support the motion in tomorrow's vote. We will work with the Hogue commission precisely to determine the best way to proceed.
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- Jun/10/24 2:24:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government will be supporting the motion before the House today, brought by the Bloc Québécois, asking the Hogue commission to examine this very matter. We think that is the appropriate way to do it.
The Conservatives are pretending that one can stand up and release a list of names. I asked the deputy commissioner of the RCMP, Mark Flynn, this morning, what would happen if I stood up and announced a list of names, like my colleagues are asking me to do. He said I would be subject to criminal prosecution. Guess what? I am not going to do that.
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- Jun/10/24 2:23:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will repeat what I said a moment ago in French. We agree with members of this House that the appropriate forum to look at these matters is the commission that is already set up and operating, set up, I would remind colleagues, with the unanimous support of all parties in this House. The Hogue commission has access to all of the documents that the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians looked at. Officials from the Privy Council Office have already been in touch with the Hogue commission to determine the best way forward.
We think that is a responsible way to proceed, not simply standing up and illegally announcing a list of names, like my colleague suggests.
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- Jun/10/24 2:21:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate that our colleague should consult the person sitting to his left. He knows full well that the Hogue commission has access to precisely this type of information. The Hogue commission has access to all the records that the committee of parliamentarians consulted.
Privy Council officials have already been in contact with the Hogue commission precisely to discuss how we can move forward on this. That is the responsible way to proceed. The member knows full well that it is irresponsible to rise in the House and ask that a list of names be disclosed. We will not do that.
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- Jun/10/24 2:20:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
I am a little surprised. The person sitting next to him, his House leader, sent me a letter over the weekend suggesting that these questions be addressed to the Hogue commission, and that this was the appropriate forum with the precautions that are in place.
Today the House is debating a motion from our friends in the Bloc Québécois that we are going to support. I think this is an important time for Parliament. We must come together and support the work of the Hogue commission, and that is exactly what we plan on doing.
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- Jun/7/24 12:07:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just because our colleague makes something up does not make it true. He knows very well that our government has worked collaboratively with the Hogue commission. In fact, officials from the Privy Council Office are in regular and ongoing contact with the lawyers from the Hogue commission to ensure that they have all of the appropriate and relevant documents to do the important work that all recognized parties in the House supported. We obviously look forward to working in a continued way with the national security committee of parliamentarians. My colleague should be careful before he makes up things in the House of Commons.
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- Jun/7/24 11:59:13 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly share our colleague's focus on the importance of vocational training and skills upgrading for those who are serving in federal correctional facilities.
I had a chance, with my colleague, the parliamentary secretary and member for Kingston and the Islands, to visit the Joyceville Institution, in our colleague's riding, to meet people from CORCAN who are working and seeing inmates taking programs that will improve their skills training and hopefully set them up for success when they are released from those institutions. We will continue to do everything that is necessary to preserve public safety, and this is an important element of that work as well.
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- Jun/6/24 3:12:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that our government and the senior public servants in the Privy Council Office and the national security agencies obviously work with either the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians or the inquiry led by Justice Hogue. Those senior public servants work to ensure that they have access to all of the documents necessary to do their important work. Any redactions or any decisions with respect to the documents that are made available are made by senior public servants, and elected people are not involved in that process whatsoever.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to think that all parliamentarians take democracy seriously, that everyone who is fortunate enough to be elected to the House to serve their constituents and Canada takes democracy seriously.
That is why I am very pleased to have worked with my colleague from La Prairie on establishing the Hogue commission, for example. I really enjoyed working together last summer. I look forward to seeing the Hogue commission's report. I look forward to working with members to pass bills like Bill C-70, which will strengthen our ability to resist foreign interference.
We will continue to pursue this approach.
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- Jun/6/24 2:28:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from La Prairie for his question.
I am pleased to let him know that our government implemented a series of measures in 2015 that have evolved as the threat has evolved. Based on expert advice and independent reviews, we strengthened these measures.
A very important bill is currently before Parliament. I welcome the Bloc Québécois's support for introducing enhanced measures to protect our institutions.
We will continue to deal with the matter appropriately.
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- Jun/6/24 2:25:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is a serious parliamentarian. He knows full well that under Canadian law, no government would disclose the type of intelligence he claims he wants to know today.
I do have a suggestion for him, though. He should talk to his leader. We told his leader, and I want to reiterate it today, that we are willing to give him access to the intelligence underlying the committee of parliamentarians' report, intelligence that has been kept confidential under Canadian law. We can share this with him if he is sincere about wanting to see the intelligence underlying this report.
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- Jun/6/24 2:24:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my friend from Regina—Qu'Appelle should know very well that our national security and intelligence agencies, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, take all of the issues of national security very seriously.
My friend should know very well that our government has taken more steps than any other government to ensure that our democratic institutions are protected, and he should have confidence that we will continue to do that work, which is something the previous Conservative government did absolutely nothing about.
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- Jun/6/24 2:23:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will give full points to my friend from Regina—Qu'Appelle for trying to get me to do indirectly what he knows very well I cannot do directly.
I will remind my friend that our government is the first government to take this issue seriously. The previous Conservative government did absolutely nothing to secure our democratic institutions in spite of public warnings from CSIS for the last two years it was in government.
I worked last summer with my friend from Regina—Qu'Appelle to set up the Hogue commission. We look forward to Justice Hogue's recommendations and we would be happy to work with the member in terms of implementing them.
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- Jun/6/24 2:22:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my friend from Regina—Qu'Appelle knows very well that no government is in a position to release sensitive information about particular pieces of intelligence.
I have a suggestion for the member. He sits a couple of seats away in this place from his leader. If the Conservatives were sincere in understanding some of the information underlying the public version of the report of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, then his leader could avail himself of the offer I am happy to reiterate again today. It is to get the security clearance, get all the information the committee of parliamentarians had, and then he could come to a reasoned judgment in this place.
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- Jun/5/24 2:43:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I am rather concerned about the irresponsibility of our colleagues across the way. The member is well aware that he is asking for something that has never been done.
I would, however, encourage him to talk to his leader and ask him to accept the government's invitation to get the security clearance needed to see all of the highly classified information that our colleagues on the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians have seen. Perhaps that would be a more sincere way of advancing the cause that he claims to want to move forward today in the House.
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- Jun/5/24 2:41:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that no responsible government would disclose names involved in specific intelligence situations. It is not entirely accurate of him to claim that a responsible government, one that focuses on the security of Canada and our democratic institutions, would do such a thing.
I am glad that there are parliamentarians in the House who have the necessary security clearance to access all the intelligence behind that important committee report. I invite them to have a proper look at it.
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