Thank you, Madam Chair.
I will. I'll ask a quick question, and then I'll be sharing some time with my colleague Ms. Romanado.
Thank you, Mr. O'Toole, for joining us today. It's good to hear that there is life after politics. I'll be looking forward to that at some point.
To Mr. Cooper's point, this is about the safety of Canadians. When we're talking about transparency and trying to get to where we need to go, as you've articulated, we need to find common ground and make sure that we're looking at solutions and recommendations that will mitigate some of these challenges.
I'm concerned. I have a very diverse community in my riding. I represent Steveston—Richmond East, where the UN recognized the “Highway to Heaven”. It's a five-kilometre stretch of road with over 20 different faith-based institutions that are all next door to each other and living in harmony. It's a great community. I grew up there and have been there my whole life. I'm concerned about them and every member in this House.
You talked about errors of the past. I want to raise that it's widely known—and CSIS officials have sat where you are and told committees—that under the Harper government, a number of MOUs were signed and entered into directly with the RCMP that allowed 25 Chinese communist agents to come here, enter the country and look at repatriating people they thought were criminals who they needed to take back home. A number of them were deported during that period—about 290—and 2,900 citizens were influenced, shall we say. It was suggested that it would be in their best interest if they went back to China, because some of their family members were being threatened by the regime.
A government that you were a member of admitted foreign agents into Canada to intimidate Canadians. They are the same agents you're saying are targeting you.
It's clear that this set a terrible precedent. Don't you think that was a bad decision? Were you at any time aware of it happening to you...that those agents...? Has that ever been mentioned to you?