Debates of Feb. 29th, 2024

Public Services and Procurement

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the ArriveCAN drama never stops. When we told the Liberals they could ask the public service to do the work that was required, they said it was not possible. It turns out that the ArriveCAN contract was awarded to a DND employee, so a public servant actually did do the work.

Under the Liberals, public money going to private consultants has tripled. Why are they trying to give Conservatives a run for their money on how much money they can waste on private consulting?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the question is an important one.

As soon as we were made aware that the CEO of Dalian was a DND employee, we took immediate action to suspend all contracts with Dalian, and I can confirm for the House that all active contracts with Dalian have been suspended. I can also confirm for the House that the person in question has also been suspended.

The matter will be thoroughly investigated.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, once again I ask that you please be respectful of the questions that are asked and, of course, of the answers given, for many reasons. One reason is that members who require the use of translation cannot hear if members are shouting.

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

Housing

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, a family of six, including a pregnant woman, is living under an overpass in Montreal. The family has been evicted from their apartment and they cannot find affordable housing. This is the result of the Liberals and Conservatives losing over a million affordable housing units.

Are the Liberals ashamed of their record or are they too out of touch?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, we know that every person in Canada has the right to a roof over their head. That is a fundamental human right.

We have doubled funding to communities in order to fight homelessness and ensure everyone has a place to call home. We know there is a lot of work to be done. However, unlike the Conservatives, we are not going to insult municipalities to get that work done. We have to make sure we work with everyone to find a lasting solution to homelessness in Canada.

Public Safety

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost, the crime, the corruption or the cover-ups. After the Liberals hid the Winnipeg lab documents from Canadians for over three years, we finally know why they blocked Parliament. We know Dr. Qiu had “close and clandestine relationships with...entities of the People's Republic of China” and collaborated with military scientists.

The People's Liberation Army is a known security threat to Canada, so why did the Prime Minister cover up the breach of national security instead of arresting the spies?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will answer the first part of the answer, as I suspect we are going to have other questions on the second element.

On the first order, the first offer was to have all parliamentarians to look at the documents through NSICOP. That was an immediate offer. Some opposition members said that was not a good answer, because they wanted to make sure that if there was a need for redactions to be released, there would be a process.

I, as House leader at that point in time, suggested an ad hoc process that would ensure that an independent arbiter would make the decision about releasing the documents. I would remind the member again that it is an independent decision of the Public Health Agency to make redactions. I am sure he is not suggesting that anything other than that should happen.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the House leader actually sued the Speaker.

Dr. Qiu maliciously shared technology materials from the Winnipeg labs with Major General Chen, one of Beijing's top commanders at the Academy of Military Medical Science. The academy is described in the CSIS documents as “the highest medical research institution of the People's Liberation Army of the PRC” and as having offensive biological weapons capabilities. One of its objectives is “transforming the results of basic civilian research into military applications” and “development of military biotechnologies”. The Chinese military can now make more biological weapons and potentially use them against Canadians and our allies.

Why did the Prime Minister cover up this national security threat?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I have already said that the documents first were released, and then the additional redactions were actually commenced by us.

The second point is that the member says “maliciously”, but we do not know what the intention was. That is the purpose of an RCMP investigation. These are individuals whom I am deeply concerned about, like the member opposite is. In having followed due process, we understand what they did.

With respect to the Chinese government, the military itself, the government, academia and scientists are all part of its military. That means that any connection they had whatsoever would have touched that, and so I think it is careful—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, it is hard for the Chair to hear the response. If members are not satisfied with the response, sometimes the best opportunity is just to listen to it in silence and let it stand on its own.

The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman has the floor.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the health minister should actually read the CSIS document that describes all the breaches that were made and the espionage that was carried out.

At the Prime Minister's top public health lab in Canada, Beijing military scientist Dr. Yan was given unfettered access to all the labs and the computer systems at the Winnipeg lab, which were covertly shared by Dr. Qiu with Beijing. Instead of stopping this espionage, the Prime Minister decided to cover it up.

Why did the Prime Minister put his admiration for the basic dictatorship of the Communist Party in Beijing ahead of the public safety of Canadians?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to step back and really consider what the Conservative Party is saying here.

At the time they were hired, these two Canadian citizens were eminent scientists who were well published and well regarded throughout North America. The fact that they lied and misrepresented themselves is reprehensible—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I will ask the member for Miramichi—Grand Lake to please keep his comments to himself. He will have the floor when he asks a question.

The hon. Minister of Health.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would hope they are not suggesting that, if they had been in power, they would have interfered politically, and been able, through clairvoyance, to know that these eminent scientists, who at that point in time we had no reason to believe were anything other than Canadian scientists who were doing good research, and gotten rid of them before this happened.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we read the documents concerning Winnipeg's National Microbiology Laboratory, and the worst is confirmed: There was indeed infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party.

Based on its own assessment, the Liberal government allowed a person who is “a very serious danger and a realistic and credible threat to Canada's economic security” to access and compromise the level 4 lab.

Will the Prime Minister admit that he is trying to protect himself instead of Canadians?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, when China, Russia or any other country threatens Canada, it is an attack on our democracy, on the House of Commons and on every member here. That worries me a great deal.

That is why we have put in place policies to further strengthen public safety and to ensure that national security is not compromised.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, does the minister know that the Prime Minister has said that he admires China's basic dictatorship?

Does he also know that the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is working on some of the most dangerous viruses in the world and that the scientist who was fired shared sensitive intellectual property and dangerous pathogens, such as the Ebola genetic sequence, with the Chinese Communist Party?

Does the Prime Minister understand that he put our national and economic security in jeopardy?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians watching at home are seeing today is deplorable. National security should not be a partisan issue.

We have no lessons to learn from the Conservatives when it comes to protecting national security in research and science in Canada. Our government has done more than any other to protect science, to protect intellectual property, to help our universities and our research centres by identifying security risks.

In January, we published a list that tells research institutes not to do business with entities that might act to the detriment of the Government of Canada.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, is the minister aware that, on March 31, 2019, the Ebola and Nipah viruses were sent to Beijing on Air Canada? Does the minister know that?

Does he know that viruses that are used as weapons of war were sent to a country that is building an arsenal of biological weapons? We know that Dr. Qiu conducted joint research with Major-General Chen Wei of China's People's Liberation Army.

Does the Prime Minister realize that his government screwed up by helping a country that is developing biological weapons and putting people in danger?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, instead of talking about the facts, what the opposition Conservatives are trying to do today is politicize national security. I think Canadians' health and safety is the primary responsibility of every MP here.

As I said in January, we have published a list of entities that Canadian research centres should avoid doing business with in the interest of protecting national security and intellectual property. Everyone watching knows that we will always be there to protect Canada's national security.

Justice

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec Court of Appeal has clearly ruled that Bill 21 is constitutional and does not pose a problem. It recognizes the right of Quebeckers to adopt rules to ensure the secular nature of the Quebec state. The matter is closed, unless Ottawa and a few opponents decide to continue challenging it.

What will the Liberal government choose? Will it respect the will of Quebeckers and the Court of Appeal ruling, or will it pick a fight with Quebec again?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that our government is firmly committed to defending the rights and freedoms protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the right to freedom of expression and religion and the right to equality.

Our government has clearly expressed serious concerns about the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause on a number of occasions as well. If this case goes to the Supreme Court, we will be there to intervene.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, respecting the charter is a good thing. Respecting court decisions would also be a good thing.

Despite what the Liberals say, there is nothing wrong with Bill 21. It is constitutional and absolutely legitimate. It is one of the pillars supporting the kind of peaceful co-existence that Quebeckers want. Five years on, we see, as the courts see, that everything is fine and that the Liberals' fears were unfounded.

Will the government respect the Court of Appeal's decision and promise to hold off from directly or indirectly challenging Bill 21?