Yes.
Evidence of meeting #79 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was information.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #79 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was information.
A video is available from Parliament.
11 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Okay.
Presumably, you came back from vacation. What happened to the memo?
11 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
It would have been destroyed through destruction processes. It wasn't lying around as a risk. If it had been relevant to the operating of the Department of National Defence, or information we had to provide to the then minister of national defence, somebody else in the Department of National Defence would have read it and actioned it.
11 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Okay. It was destroyed by the time you came back. It went to the Prime Minister's then national security intelligence adviser.
What happened to the memo when it reached his desk? Did it go into a black hole, as well? Do you know?
11 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
No. As I said to you, I'm not going to account for what happened with my predecessors.
We know it was not presented to a national security and intelligence adviser until mid-August, for various reasons, and I don't.... That's just because of the reading packages being created.
11 a.m.
Conservative
11 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
At that time, David Morrison was acting in the job.
11 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
It didn't actually get to PCO, you're saying, for almost a month.
11 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
No. It arrived in PCO in July.
11 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
It would have arrived in July. To whom, then, did it go, and from whom did it come? I'm just trying to get an understanding of where these things go. This was a very significant memo. The information contained in it ultimately resulted in a diplomat being expelled from Canada.
Where did it go?
11 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
In August, it was presented to the acting national security and intelligence adviser.
11:05 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
It was in August. Okay.
You reviewed the transmission records. Is that right?
11:05 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
We've done some forensics on what occurred.
11:05 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Would you undertake to provide the transmission records to this committee, or at least provide—
11:05 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
I'm not sure I can call them “transmission records”. We'll provide what we have.
11:05 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
As far as where the memo went, to whom and when, on what dates—
11:05 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Thank you for that.
Do you have access to the top secret network email? Do you have your log-in credentials?
11:05 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
I have log-in credentials up to secret. Everything that is TS is presented to me.
11:05 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Do you think it is appropriate that then minister of public safety Bill Blair did not see an issues management note from CSIS, sent in May 2021, which indicated that Michael Chong was a target of Beijing, because he didn't have his log-in information?
Do you think that's acceptable?
11:05 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
I don't think that is, in fact, what the reality is.
11:05 a.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
Minister Blair would have been given a reading package.
What happened in the Department of Public Safety at that time, I can't speak to. You'll have to speak to the officials who were there at the time.
Minister Blair doesn't walk around with a secret laptop, logging into it. No minister does. We give them the information they need to read.
11:05 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
At the time of the July 2021 memo concerning Beijing targeting MPs, Mike MacDonald was the acting director. Is that correct?