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Madam Speaker, in principle, I share my colleague's concern about the difficulty of determining a date that does not disrupt municipal elections in her province, as she rightly said. I believe that Quebec's municipal election day falls one week after the date proposed in the bill, which is October 27. I, too, have a constructive relationship with the mayor of Gaspé. I saw him in the Gaspé last sum…
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure that there was a question in the comments from my colleague from York—Simcoe. Liberals think Canadians want the House and the government to focus on the important issues that matter to them. We think one of the fundamental issues for Canadians is having an electoral system that is accessible, open and fair, obviously while ensuring all of the important elements of inte…
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Madam Speaker, in spite of the manufactured indignation from our colleague, he knows very well that the Conservatives are experts at the very words the member used. I will not repeat the words my colleague used, because of your admonishment, which I obviously take seriously. Former prime minister Harper introduced, with the current Leader of the Opposition as the minister responsible for democrati…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Waterloo, as always, identified a serious concern that I think many parliamentarians share. The Conservative Party has a long history of seeking to make voting more difficult by putting barriers in front of people, whether it is to register to vote or whether it is appropriate identification to ensure the integrity of people presenting themselves at the polls. In t…
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Madam Speaker, no, and it certainly was not put in there to benefit the 32 Conservative MPs who would benefit by that change as well. Therefore, the answer is no to both of those questions.
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Madam Speaker, our colleague from Nunavut again raises a very important point. We were inspired by the work she did in terms of indigenous languages' being included on the ballots. Having had a number of conversations with the Chief Electoral Officer and other colleagues, I was struck by the number of indigenous persons who, when they would go to vote, would be in a circumstance where, again, thei…
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Mr. Speaker, we clearly understand the concerns of exporters and other Canadian businesses that deal with the Canada Border Services Agency. That is why we delayed a certain aspect of the app's rollout. I am well aware of the concerns, and I am going to make sure that the CBSA does things the right way.
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Mr. Speaker, I will see to it that the CBSA provides the Standing Committee on International Trade with all the appropriate documents, that is, the requested documents. I have also had a number of discussions with CBSA officials to ensure that the scenario the member is raising does not happen. I will also continue to work with the CBSA.
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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 governmen…
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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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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 confide…
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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 h…
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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 allow 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…
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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 g…
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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 c…
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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 C…
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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…
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Mr. Speaker, just because our colleague makes something up, that 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 w…
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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 i…
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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…
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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 Nati…
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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 l…
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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 ha…
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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 loo…
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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 p…
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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…
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Mr. Speaker, our hon. colleague knows very well that our government was the first government to put in place a series of measures to strengthen our institutions and our democracy from the threat of foreign interference. He knows very well that threat was identified publicly in 2013 in a CSIS report when the Leader of the Opposition was responsible for democratic institutions. The Conservatives did…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague, the leader of the NDP, for his important work and the work of his House leader in setting up, for example, the commission led by Justice Hogue. I am very pleased to hear that he is interested, having received, obviously, the appropriate security clearance, in getting all of the confidential information that is behind the important work of the National Security a…
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows very well that no government, including the former government, of which he was a member, is going to discuss particularities of intelligence information publicly. He knows better than that. However, the good news is that, if the Leader of the Opposition wanted to get the appropriate security clearance, he would be able to see the confidential report …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from La Prairie for his question and for his contribution to the implementation of the Hogue commission. I would also like to thank him, his party and all the other partners for the important work being done today to support Bill C-70, for example. This bill will strengthen our national security institutions and our collective ability to recognize and counter fore…
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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…
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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 …
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Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday and repeated again today, it is important to be very careful when publicly discussing intelligence in any detail. As the Prime Minister correctly pointed out, we are the only government that has brought in a series of measures that have evolved over the years to strengthen our ability to detect foreign interference. I have a great deal of confidence in our security…
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Madam Speaker, the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo is in his first term in this Parliament, and he is correct that he would not have seen previous Parliaments that were not able to pass this legislation. However, we can conclude that this simple fact would behoove all of us to work collaboratively, as the committee did, and the support of the Conservatives at committee, for example, was impor…
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Madam Speaker, I understand why my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou would ask that question. When I look at the bill's timeline, I can see that it has been before Parliament for quite some time. That is probably one good reason to pass it speedily. The committee spent a significant number of meetings on this bill, during which our colleagues amended it. Our government recognizes the importance of …
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from Edmonton West's enthusiasm to pass the legislation. We certainly share his sense of urgency. It has been before the House three times. This feels like the right time. I am confident that the third time will be the lucky one. It is too bad that we got to this point; as colleagues know, and my colleagues on the security committee know better than I do, t…
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Madam Speaker, I have had the chance to work with our colleague, the House leader of the New Democratic Party, over a number of years. He is an experienced, dedicated parliamentarian. I might have even given him the title of “worker bee” as well. He has been, and his colleagues in his caucus have been, extraordinarily constructive in committee in improving this legislation. We worked happily with …
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Madam Speaker, our colleague from Beauport—Limoilou has raised another important issue. I completely share her concern regarding complaints that could land in her constituency office from people who did not really have appropriate recourse or a robust independent voice for the review and handling of those complaints. I hope that this bill and the independent commission that it creates, which will …
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Madam Speaker, our colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue raises an important issue, namely the internal governance of the Canada Border Services Agency. The CBSA has gone through some difficult times, what with the Auditor General's report and the internal reviews of ArriveCAN. I have a great deal of trust in the current president of the CBSA, Erin O'Gorman. I got to know her when she was a senior …
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby again identifies what, for us, was a very constructive and positive effort from our colleagues at committee to improve the legislation. As I said, the New Democratic Party was a very steady and constructive voice in bringing thoughtful amendments that, from our perspective, strengthened the legislation. The member identified, for example, th…
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Madam Speaker, the member identifies something that we have acknowledged: the presence of systemic racism in policing institutions and other governmental institutions. It is a concern that we share with her. Again, one of the constructive elements of the work done by colleagues at the committee, including the House leader of the New Democratic Party, was the ability to collect race-based data and …
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Madam Speaker, our colleague, the Minister of Innovation, rightly raised an important issue. In his parliamentary or ministerial work, my colleague is someone who is very focused on the type of critical question he just asked. I think that the very fact that the commission will regularly release reports will reassure Canadians as to the importance of this aspect of civilian review, which will appl…
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Madam Speaker, I thank our colleague, the parliamentary secretary, for highlighting what surprises colleagues on our side of the House, in terms of the Conservatives' reticence to adopt legislation that would provide, for the first time, independent civilian oversight of the Canada Border Services Agency and that would strengthen the previous complaints commission process for the Royal Canadian Mo…
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Madam Speaker, members, I hope, will agree that there is some irony in a member of the Conservative Party criticizing prorogation when its former leader, Prime Minister Harper, prorogued Parliament to avoid a confidence vote that would have likely replaced his government. He had to have a one-hour wrangle with the Governor General to ask for that unconstitutional and unprecedented request. I thoug…
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Madam Speaker, I thank our colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île. What a beautiful name for a riding. I am a little envious of the name of his constituency. Our colleague raises an issue that should be of concern to everyone. I, too, am concerned. I fully share our colleague's concerns about the importance of having border services officers who can serve people in both official languages, whether at t…
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Madam Speaker, dancing and weaving are not physical activities that I would pretend to be very effective in doing. What I thought I did, which I judged by the smiles of a number of colleagues in the House, including across the aisle from where I stand now, was point out a certain irony. “Hypocrisy” may be an unparliamentary word, so I would not propose to use that word, but there is a certain iron…
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Madam Speaker, our colleague from Winnipeg Centre raises a very troubling and important issue. We acknowledge the presence of systemic racism in many aspects of the criminal justice system. The overrepresentation of indigenous persons, Black people and racialized people is a source of concern for all of us. It should concern all Canadians. It certainly is a concern that I share. As expressed by ou…
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Mr. Speaker, I will use the example raised by my colleague. Contrary to what he says, we are working with correctional services specifically to protect the safety of people who work in our correctional institutions. Along with my colleague, the hon. Minister of Public Services and Procurement, I had the privilege of visiting a model correctional institution precisely to talk with employees about i…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for focusing on what we think is also an important element, strengthening the Criminal Code provisions, as he properly noted, around sabotage. We are obviously conscious of the fact that with respect to lawful and peaceful protests, there has to be an intent to harm as part of the criminal amendment we are suggesting. From my perspective, if the attempt in the par…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Drummond, and I commend him and our Bloc Québécois colleagues for being open to working with the government to send the bill to committee so that we can look into exactly the kinds of issues that my colleague raised. Obviously, we took note of the bill introduced by our colleague from Trois-Rivières. It seems perfectly reasonable to me to find a way to ensure th…
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