Mr. Chair, I thank the member for his question.
Mr. Bergeron, your question is very interesting and touches on several important points. One of these matters to consider is China's evolution in recent years, especially since Xi Jinping came to power, the degree of aggression and disrespect for international law...
For example, China has refused to abide by the International Court of Arbitration's 2016 ruling on the South China Sea. Yet the ruling was very clear and unequivocal. This is one of the triggers. Since 2013, when Xi Jinping came to power, various examples like this one demonstrate an important trajectory for China.
At the same time, Chinese legislation and several programs have evolved. For example, the Thousand Talents Program has become much more institutionalized. In some ways, China is very open, but since 2017 and 2018, laws have been put in place to force people, companies and all Chinese people everywhere to collaborate with intelligence services.
I'd also like to mention the evolution and growth of the United Front Work Department. Its approach is to influence and control the Chinese diaspora and influence other countries in order to further Chinese interests.
The United Front Work Department, the Thousand Talents Program and the evolving threat posed by China are all elements that need to be taken into account. In fact, that's what our intelligence services, analysts and experts on China are doing. We need to take the information we have in 2024 and put it in the context of 2010. We have to take into account what we knew at that time, what was known and what measures could have been taken.
Finally, I'd like to add that, in working with my colleagues around the world on issues of Chinese spying and interference, I've been able to see that these behaviours have evolved everywhere over the past few years.
So Canada is also part of this evolution.