- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Eglinton—Lawrence
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $83,797.98
- Government Page
- Jun/19/23 2:48:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what I did as Minister of Public Safety. I have strengthened the briefing protocol to ensure that I and the entire government team have all the information we need to protect our communities.
In addition, we have a very strong track record with new powers and new transparency mechanisms. We are always ready to work together, not only with the Bloc Québécois, but with all members in the House.
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- May/30/23 2:39:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, public hearings are not the only way to demonstrate respect for the value of transparency.
It was our government that created the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. It was our government that created the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency. There are plenty of examples of how we can move forward with a national discussion to better protect our democratic institutions. Our government wants to work with all members of the House.
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- May/2/23 2:54:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said now on numerous occasions, decisions regarding what information that touches on security and intelligence is released into the public domain are made by our independent and non-partisan public servants. We have reached out to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills.
The government's commitment is to work with him and all members of this chamber so we can do the work of protecting our institutions, our communities and, most importantly, the people who represent, in this chamber, the 338 ridings. We will do that work in a non-partisan way.
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- May/2/23 2:45:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have explained several times now, decisions about what information should or should not be shared with the public are made by our public servants, who work in an independent and non-partisan manner. Yes, I will be working with the member for Wellington—Halton Hills to brief him and share information, because this government is there to protect not only that member, but everyone who works in the House.
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- May/2/23 2:35:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague across the aisle for highlighting the directive that this government has put in place to ensure transparency and accountability around decisions, which are taken independently by our non-partisan professional public servants when it comes to which classified information is made public and which must remain classified to protect the people who work in that space.
This is not a partisan issue. We must all work together to defend the institutions, the communities and, most important, the parliamentarians who serve those institutions to protect our democracy.
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- Mar/23/23 3:04:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, by now my colleague will have heard that the answer to that question lies in the mandate provided to Mr. Johnston, who will look into all allegations related to the 2019 and 2021 elections. I also want to assure the member that two independent panels have verified that those elections were free and fair.
Now Mr. Johnston will put forward recommendations up to and including a public inquiry, which this government will respect, so that we can reinforce the confidence of Canadians in all our institutions, most especially our elections.
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- Mar/20/23 1:05:24 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I extend my condolences to the member's community.
The role of the special rapporteur will be to provide advice on what, if any, additional steps need to be taken, given allegations of foreign interference that have been raised with regard to the 2019 and 2021 elections, but with sufficient flexibility to offer additional recommendations and suggestions on how we can better fight against foreign interference. As I said in my last response, that could include a recommendation for an independent public inquiry. It is not the only way in which that work can be done, but it is certainly an option that has been deliberately and consciously left on the table by the government.
I would point out, importantly, that the government will respect whatever recommendation Mr. Johnston puts forward.
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- Mar/7/23 2:38:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague values transparency. So does this government. That is why yesterday, when we announced the imminent appointment of a special rapporteur, we said that we would abide by and respect any recommendation that that individual would put forward, including and up to a public inquiry.
Equally, I would remind all members of this chamber that we also announced that we would commence consultations on a foreign agent registry as well as the launch of a coordinator to fight against foreign interference. I sincerely hope this is something that all members of this chamber are united on.
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- Mar/6/23 2:37:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, this government set up the SITE panel and the critical instant reporting protocol to ensure that independent, non-partisan, professional public servants would make decisions about which allegations of foreign interference would be disclosed. This is a process that has served our democracy well.
Now we will take the recommendations from Morris Rosenberg and work closely with the public service to implement them so we can build on the strong track record of this government, which remains vigilant and clear-eyed about fighting against the threats of foreign interference.
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- Jun/13/22 2:53:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague sets a very high threshold for openness and transparency. When is he going to shine a light on the statements that were made by his interim leader during the illegal occupation, who wanted to make it a political problem, while frontline officers were trying to restore public safety? That party—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/8/22 2:47:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we invoked the Emergencies Act to restore public safety. We did it following the conversations and consultations we had with law enforcement, including on which powers were needed to restore public safety. At the conclusion of it, we revoked the Emergencies Act and, as part of that, we are now participating in an exercise of transparency, including with Justice Rouleau, who has the power to compel witnesses and documents, including classified information.
Of course, the government will co-operate because we agree that the act should be scrutinized so that it is never abused. We will always follow that principle.
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- Jun/8/22 2:47:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we invoked the Emergencies Act, we did it to restore public safety after we sought the advice of law enforcement. Following that, we commenced the public inquiry giving—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Apr/28/22 2:35:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if my hon. colleague wants transparency, I would encourage him to bold, highlight and underline the word “public” in the expression “public inquiry”.
Justice Rouleau has a plethora of experience in both trial law and appellate law. He is familiar with the principles of balancing cabinet confidences with the information he needs to review, so we can ensure we will get it right with respect to the Emergencies Act and take away the lessons learned from this awful episode. It would be nice to see the Conservatives appreciate just how severe this event was.
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