Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House to discuss today's opposition day motion. Hopefully after today, the Liberal government will decide to do what is right for Canadians and instruct the national security adviser to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to provide the committee with the same briefing he gave journalists on February 23, 2018, and that briefing will take place in public no later than March 30, 2018, and finally provide some clarity to all Canadians.
First, I would like to discuss the facts. A convicted attempted murderer was invited to dinner, an event hosted by the Canadian High Commission. We know the Prime Minister believes that the Indian government is responsible for a convicted attempted murderer embarrassing him on his trip.
Second, we know a Liberal MP has been punished for inviting the convicted attempted murderer on his trip.
Third, we know that the Indian government has issued the following statement in response to a question regarding invitations to the convicted attempted murderer. The official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs of the Indian government has said:
We have seen the recent exchange in the Parliament of Canada regarding two invitations issued to Jaspal Atwal by the Canadian High Commissioner, for functions hosted in honour of the Canadian Prime Minister in India.
Let me categorically state that the Government of India, including the security agencies, had nothing to do with the presence of Jaspal Atwal at the event hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner in Mumbai or the invitation issued to him for the Canadian High Commissioner's reception in New Delhi. Any suggestion to the contrary is baseless and unacceptable.
This leaves me and many Canadians with a number of questions. How can the Prime Minister's conflicting narrative be true? Is the Prime Minister hiding facts and evidence?
I believe it is imperative that the national security adviser be called upon to testify and to provide members of Parliament with the same information he gave to journalists so that Canadians can adequately judge the validity of the Prime Minister's theory.
There is a lot of room for the Canada-India partnership to grow. Canada needs to take advantage of the opportunity that presents itself with India. It is looking for a partner with strong education, advanced health systems, and who is a leader in green energy. We need to see where Canada can complement India and grow these partnerships.
Over the past several months the Prime Minister has fumbled important files, including Canada's bilateral relationship with India, NAFTA renegotiations with the United States, and Canada's budget.
The PM's trip to India was supposed to strengthen ties between our two nations, but instead the Prime Minister humiliated Canada on the world stage. This accusation has major implications and does nothing to provide greater market access to Canadian businesses looking to expand their operations inside India. The Prime Minister cannot just ignore this problem. He must address it.
On top of this, yet again, the Prime Minister has shown no concern for taxpayers and treated this trip as more of a vacation than a trade mission. This was apparent when the Prime Minister had a celebrity flown to India to cook for him and his entourage. This trip to India is just another repeat of the Prime Minister displaying his inability on the world stage. These failures show a clear lack of judgment and respect for Canadians. Trade missions are not reality TV. The Prime Minister has failed to take his responsibilities seriously.
India is a market of over one billion people, and in order for our businesses and manufacturers to remain competitive globally, we need a strong relationship. What a missed opportunity. International trade missions like the Prime Minister's trip to India are very important. They give us an opportunity to build better relationships.
The previous Conservative government put in a lot of hard work to strengthen ties between Canada and India. We signed the Canada-India social security agreement. This agreement helps facilitate the flow of people between Canada and India. We also announced the new Canada-India research centre of excellence. This centre of excellence will build stronger bilateral research ties and create valuable learning opportunities while generating positive economic and social benefits for both countries. Now we see the Prime Minister would prefer to eat with his celebrity chef friend, see elephants, and play dress-up instead of getting results and strengthening diplomatic ties. All this has proven to us is that the Prime Minister does not take his job seriously.
Going back to the facts, the government of India, a Liberal MP, and the convicted attempted murderer in question have all refuted the Prime Minister's theory that Atwal was planted at the Prime Minister's event in India. This is contrary to what was said in a media briefing arranged by the Prime Minister's Office, where a government official suggested that Jaspal Atwal's presence with the Government of Canada's Indian delegation was linked to factions within the Indian government. The inference was that the Atwal affair was a result of rogue Indian elements sabotaging the Prime Minister on the world stage, not a lack of due diligence by the Prime Minister or his office.
I support the motion today and hope that the government does the right thing for Canadians and the relationship we have with India. The Prime Minister must be responsible and instruct his national security adviser to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to provide the committee the same briefing he gave journalists on February 23, 2018, and that briefing must take place in public no later than March 30, 2018.
Canadians deserve to hear the facts and be provided with the evidence. By continuing to support a conspiracy theory that is not supported by any proof and has been met only with denials by those allegedly involved, the PM is making allegations without substance. The Prime Minister has a responsibility to properly represent Canadians and their interests. The Prime Minister is failing to be honest with Canadians. It is important that he clears up the confusion about the Atwal affair. Canadians deserve answers. If he has evidence of moves to sabotage Canada's reputation, he must present it. Otherwise, he should take responsibility for this massive failure of an international trip.
Let us all do the right thing here today and support the motion.