You're in cabinet.
Evidence of meeting #29 for Declaration of Emergency in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was documents.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #29 for Declaration of Emergency in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was documents.
A video is available from Parliament.
9:15 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
I wear different hats at different times in this context.
9:15 p.m.
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
Sure.
I remember the details of the SNC-Lavalin affair well, when a previous attorney general made a very clear distinction that there are some significant challenges in being both the client and the solicitor, yet your testimony here today is that the sacrosanct feature is to protect that relationship.
However, the government has a long history of waiving cabinet confidence. How do you defend that, when most—in my understanding—of the legislation that provided you with public interest immunity weighed the balance of the protection of government information with the public interest?
Having spent so much time on this committee, would you not agree that it is within the public interest to provide the most amount and highest level of transparency and accountability to the Canadian public, given the fact that the purpose of us being here is one of the most extreme points of legislation, namely the Emergencies Act, sir? Being both the client and the solicitor, please explain to me and the public how you justify not providing basic information in the general public interest.
9:20 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
Let me clarify something.
I think it's important for Canadians watching to understand that the Minister of Justice constantly provides, as the chief law officer of the Crown, advice to cabinet and to—
9:20 p.m.
NDP
9:20 p.m.
Liberal
9:20 p.m.
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
We don't need a history lesson. I want you to answer the question I put to you.
9:20 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
It is possible for the Minister of Justice to wear different hats around the cabinet table. That's the first point.
The second point, sir, is that I don't agree with your assertion that cabinet confidence is regularly waived. I know of very few instances, actually, that it has ever been waived.
In terms of ensuring transparency with this process, I'm trying to provide you with as forthcoming information as possible. You have been provided with what is effectively similar to a charter statement. You've been provided with information from the previous deputy minister, François Daigle. We are assisting you as best as possible without breaching the importance of cabinet confidence—
9:20 p.m.
NDP
The Joint Chair NDP Matthew Green
That suffices.
With my 20 seconds, I would put to you that the average person watching who heard you talk about the sacrosanct relationship with yourself will not be willing to accept the answers that you've provided here today, and, ultimately, I don't think it will further the public interest of the investigation that we're trying to do.
Thank you.
9:20 p.m.
Senator, Ontario, PSG
Minister, let me donate the first part of my time to your response.
9:20 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
In response to Mr. Green, I think the Canadians who are watching right now would appreciate that the chief law officer of the Crown takes very seriously the issue of how the administration of justice unfolds in this country. Protecting solicitor-client privilege is something that I'm duty-bound to do, not just as minister, not just as Attorney General, but in terms of my oath to the bar.
9:20 p.m.
Senator, Ontario, PSG
Thank you.
Let me ask a question of Director Vigneault.
When you were here last, you talked about the emerging threats and the changing threat profile. Could you comment further in terms of the elapsing two years as to whether the trends that you forecast are altering, and if so, in what way? What should we as parliamentarians be concerned about in the area of public safety and security and racially motivated and religiously sponsored terrorism?
9:20 p.m.
Director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Senator Harder, unfortunately my answer will not be a very positive one. What we have seen in the last two years is an increase in violent extremism in our country, motivated both by ideology and by religious motives. That has accelerated, also, since October 7, with the attack by Hamas on Israel. Unfortunately, here in Ottawa, we've had a terrorist plot, which was thwarted because of the work of CSIS and the RCMP.
From an extremism point of view, we have seen a rise in religiously motivated violent extremism. We have also seen what was the concern during the convoy—the ideological motivation continued to increase in terms of anti-government motivation. We have seen an increase in that. We have seen people who have continued to engage in planning, in prepping for activities, doing military-type drills.
9:20 p.m.
Senator, Ontario, PSG
Do you have the adequate authority and resources to respond to that increased activity?
9:20 p.m.
Director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service
We have been working with the government and Minister LeBlanc to provide advice on potential changes that would be required. I'm not sure if the minister has views on that for the committee tonight, but there is indeed a lot of work being done to address that and make sure that we all have the right tools at our disposal.
I would maybe add that, in terms of foreign interference, we have continued to see an increase, and there is a commission of inquiry under way that will hopefully provide Canadians, as well as the House of Commons and the Senate, with some perspective on how the threat has continued to evolve and essentially make it more difficult for Canadians here.
February 27th, 2024 / 9:20 p.m.
Senator, Ontario, PSG
Minister LeBlanc, will that be part of your announcements next week?
9:20 p.m.
Liberal
Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB
Senator Harder, no, the specific resourcing of CSIS, for example, or some of the statutes, particularly the CSIS Act.... That's 40 years old. As some parliamentarians know as well as I do, it is legislation that we think might be modernized to reflect the threat profile the director just referred to.
As you may know, we announced consultations in the fall around looking at modernizing the CSIS Act, so that will be a separate parliamentary process, obviously, with the Senate and the House of Commons.
However, we as a government, and based on the advice of the commissioner and the director, recognize that the threat picture and the threat landscape are evolving in a negative way, as the director said. Our job as a government is to make sure that the security services have all the resources, including legislative and regulatory authorities, to do the work that we ask of them.
9:25 p.m.
The Joint Chair Hon. Gwen Boniface
Senator Carignan, you have the last round for three minutes.