Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I was surprised to hear a Conservative member speak about inaction on this file because that is exactly what the Leader of the Opposition did for two years when he was the minister responsible for democratic institutions. Our government is the first government to take concrete steps to counter foreign interference in democratic institutions. We have strengthened these measures time an…
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Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said a few minutes ago, we very much appreciate the suggestions we have received from the Bloc Québécois. They put forward strong names of credible people. I think it is a good start to a meaningful conversation. We also share the Bloc Québécois' concerns about acting quickly enough so as not to delay a public process. We look forward to working with the Bloc and…
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Mr. Speaker, we are not trying to hold up the process. We are trying to collaborate. For us, the letter we received from the leader of the Bloc Québécois is an important step in a constructive conversation. What is more, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency are continuing their work. My colleague, the Minister…
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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 th…
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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 pa…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said at the start of question period, that has always been an option. I know that the Bloc Québécois will never form the government, but the Conservative Party is well aware that a public inquiry involving the most heavily protected national security information cannot proceed irresponsibly. I think that everyone would benefit from a substantive discussion on how to approach the …
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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 oppo…
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Mr. Speaker, it will not surprise members that I do not share some of the exaggerated premises of our hon. colleague's questions. What we have said, and members of the Conservative Party know this well, including the leader of the Conservative Party, who sat in government, is that this was designed and decided to protect national security information from public release. The Conservatives know tha…
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Mr. Speaker, it is telling is that our colleague opposite believes that it is petty politics for a government minister to say that he wants to consult the opposition parties and collaborate on such a crucial issue as protecting our democratic institutions. On the contrary, there has frankly been too much petty politics on this issue, including on the part of the Conservatives. We want to work toge…
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Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged by our colleague's comments about the kind of public inquiry that will have to be considered by the government and by the House of Commons. She specifically identified one of the challenges when it comes to top secret information, which is so classified in order to protect the safety of Canadians and those who work for our security agencies. Rather than simply repeatin…
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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 interfer…
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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 s…
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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 Co…
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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 ad…
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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 o…
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Mr. Speaker, we were disappointed but not surprised that the leader of the Bloc Québécois refused to have access to the most important and confidential information from CSIS. That would have given him a clearer picture of the facts in the whole matter of foreign interference. I, too, used to be an opposition member. I understand that sometimes the truth is hard for the opposition. However, this ti…
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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 …
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Mr. Speaker, the only person here who is trying to hide the truth seems to be the Leader of the Opposition himself. The Privy Council Office offered him access to the most sensitive documents that the special rapporteur reviewed in order to reach the conclusions that were made public last week. The Leader of the Opposition refused, because he would rather play petty politics on an issue that affec…
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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 fact…
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Mr. Speaker, again, I invite my colleague from La Prairie to talk to his leader and convince him to take advantage of the government's serious offer to share highly sensitive intelligence, so that the leader of the Bloc Québécois and his colleague who sits on the committee of parliamentarians in charge of looking into precisely this type of issue can look at the very facts that Mr. Johnston and th…
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Mr. Speaker, our government has taken the threat of foreign interference seriously from the moment we formed the government. The former Conservative government was in power in 2013 when intelligence agencies detected the growing threat of foreign interference. The Conservatives, however, did absolutely nothing to strengthen our democratic institutions. We have done exactly the opposite since we fo…
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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 …
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Mr. Speaker, as the government, we took action from the start to create authorities to review our measures to counter foreign interference in our democratic institutions. A committee of parliamentarians representing all parties and having access to the most sensitive information will evaluate all measures that are in place and make recommendations to the government on how we can further strengthen…
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Mr. Speaker, all of Canada's national security allies are taking appropriate action to protect Canada's most secret national security information. I know the Bloc Québécois does not like that, but that is exactly how a responsible government works. However, we have accepted the special rapporteur's recommendations on the difficulties in order to share information with political leaders within the …
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Mr. Speaker, I did not realize that hiding information involved putting it in a public report from a Canadian intelligence agency. On the contrary, our government acted quickly to implement measures to counter foreign interference, including China interference. That did not exist before we formed the government. We will strengthen those measures. We have taken steps to ensure that no member of Par…
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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 wo…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that these directives are part of our government's ongoing efforts to counter foreign interference. We have said so publicly. The Prime Minister said so last week, and the Minister of Public Safety said it again this week. Threats or interference involving members or parliamentarians are completely unacceptable. We have taken the necessary measures to ensu…
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from Public Safety mentioned, we take these threats of foreign interference very seriously, particularly when they affect members of the House. That is precisely why we gave clear, specific instructions to the intelligence agencies. We did that to ensure that the intelligence agencies inform us when they become aware of such circumstances affecting MPs or senators. We …
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we are working to secure our democratic institutions. From the time we formed the government, we have worked to strengthen the mechanisms needed to counter foreign interference, something the Conservatives never did during their years in power. We constantly look for new ways to strengthen the existing mechanisms even further. Like our colleague, we are eagerly awaiti…
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Mr. Speaker, we share my colleague's concern about accessible, affordable public transit. It is good for the environment, and it helps families in terms of commuting, getting to important jobs they need to attend to. I am looking forward to meeting later this afternoon with mayors from the greater Vancouver area regarding TransLink. It is an ongoing conversation. I will draw to my colleague's atte…
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Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what our government is going to do. We will ensure that the public interest is always protected. Our government has taken concrete action to counter foreign interference in our democratic institutions. I share my hon. colleague's concerns about the need to ensure that byelections will, like the 2019 and 2021 elections, be protected from foreign interference. We have pu…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Pontiac for her question. Canadians rely on public transit to get to where they need to be. That is why our government is investing $780 million to put 1,229 new electric buses on Quebec roads. This historic investment in partnership with the Government of Canada will, of course, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, support good jobs in Quebec's manufacturing…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows full well that Quebec has several tools to control immigration into Quebec. We also know that there are posters all over Quebec saying, “we are hiring”. On Monday, I was in Saint‑Eustache with ministers from the Quebec government. On the way from Saint‑Eustache to Ottawa, there were companies everywhere, in industrial parks, that need workers. We will work with…
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Mr. Speaker, we have said many times that we are a government that takes the threat of foreign interference extremely seriously. We have been announcing measures since we formed government, and we have enhanced them. As far as threats against members, senators or parliamentarians are concerned, obviously this is completely unacceptable. We gave a clear directive to the authorities and intelligence…
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Mr. Speaker, intergovernmental affairs allows me to work with the mayors of Canada's cities and towns. One thing I can say is that they want a partner who will help them with the housing crises in their communities. That is exactly what our government has done. I will tell members what we have not done. We have not decided that it would be a successful housing strategy to insult the mayor of Montr…
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Mr. Speaker, every minister in our government—and this should be true of every member of the House—agrees that we must work together to protect democratic institutions and to ensure that all members of the House, including our friend from Wellington—Halton Hills, are able to do their jobs as members of Parliament without foreign interference. This has always been a priority for our government. We …
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague seems confused. The person who did nothing to protect our democratic institutions against the already existing threat of foreign interference is the current Leader of the Opposition, when he was the minister responsible for democratic institutions. Since we formed the government, we have taken action. We will be announcing more action to strengthen the measures we in…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows full well that we will make the necessary decisions at the right time. It is also important to remember that we are the only government that has taken the threat of foreign interference seriously. We put in place measures and strengthened them for the 2021 election. We are obviously concerned about the situation of our colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills. Th…
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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…
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Mr. Speaker, the government will continue to look for ways to increase Canadians' participation in the democratic process. We have a number of suggestions. The leader of the NDP and the Prime Minister, in the supply and confidence agreement, agreed to a number of elements that will improve access to voting. We are working on those kinds of issues, constructively, and the government has made it cle…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Elmwood—Transcona and I share a number of objectives that he and I have discussed on numerous occasions in terms of increasing the ability of Canadians to access voting, ensuring, for example, that campus voting is prioritized by Elections Canada. We are always looking at ways to ensure that our electoral system is accessible and is reflective of the choices Canadian…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that our government took foreign interference and threats seriously from the outset. We implemented several measures in the first few months of our mandate, and we strengthened them in the months and years that followed. The good news is that the Right Hon. David Johnston is on the job and will make independent recommendations because he is an expert who k…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from the Bloc Québécois knows full well that our government strengthened legislation to deal with foreign interference in our democratic institutions. He knows full well that we have taken several measures—which were definitely not in place when we formed the government in 2015—to strengthen our institutions and to counter foreign interference, which had already been a …
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been very clear in the House. Since we took office, we have taken the matter of foreign interference in our democratic institutions very seriously. There have been increasing attempts by several countries to interfere in our democracy. That is why our government has taken meaningful and effective action to counter that interference. We are prepared to do more. W…
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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 worki…
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague opposite certainly has a way with words. However, we do not like when he claims that our government has not taken any action from the get-go to counter potential foreign interference. As we have often said, we put in place a series of measures that we have adapted based on evolving threats. The work of the Right Hon. David Johnston is part of that exercise, and we look f…
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Mr. Speaker, the chief of staff said exactly what the Prime Minister and other ministers have been saying all along. Security agencies repeatedly informed the government of the threat of foreign interference. That is precisely why we took action, unlike the previous government. We have also said that the Right Hon. David Johnston is in a better position to look at the big picture and advise the go…
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Mr. Speaker, we obviously share the sentiments of our colleague when it comes to the gratitude we have for the men and women who worked so hard in Quebec and in other provinces to restore power after the ice storm. We are obviously concerned about those who have suffered losses. There is an agreement between Canada and all the provinces to help recoup money and reimburse costs eligible under the a…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and my colleagues have been very clear. We believe that Rideau Hall, like all federal government institutions, should manage taxpayers' money properly. We know that Rideau Hall has reviewed this type of spending with its partners, whether it be with the armed forces or Global Affairs Canada. We will continue to ensure that all these expenses are reasonable and neces…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our hon. colleague for her continued interest in supporting something as important as public transit. We agree with her that this is important not only for protecting our environment, but providing a reliable and secure way for Canadians to get around communities big and small across the country. Our government has made record investments in public transit, including a…
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