Debates of March 8th, 2023

Democratic Institutions

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, section 21 of the act that creates that secret committee says, “Each year the Committee must submit to the Prime Minister a report of the reviews it conducted during the preceding year.” In other words, he did receive the report. He should stop playing word games. Nobody needs to go to the library. What we need to do is get to the truth.

The Prime Minister knew that his own security committee said Beijing had directed funds to candidates in preceding elections, yet he continues to say exactly the opposite. Is he saying the committee is lying?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to clear up the confusion around what the committee reports. Yes, the committee reports to me and to the government, but it also reports to parliamentarians and shares those reports. This is the way many committees function in our government, and they will continue to do so. In regard to the issue of whether federal candidates received money from China, as I have stated many times, we have no information on that.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we all agree that the Prime Minister has seen the report. Well, this is what Global News says of the report: “Global News also learned of an earlier, high-level warning about clandestine funding of China's ‘preferred candidates’ that came from a bipartisan panel of parliamentarians two months before the 2019 election.”

China gave money to its preferred candidates. The Prime Minister admits that the committee reported to him on this fact. Why does he continue to state the diametric opposite of the truth in his answers in the House of Commons?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I think we all understand how important it is that Canadians have both confidence in our government's ability to counter foreign interference and confidence in the transparency and openness with which that happens. That is why, beyond the partisan to-and-fro that we necessarily see in this House, it is important to create an independent, unimpeachable, special rapporteur who is going to be able to oversee the entire landscape around national security to make sure that committees are doing their work and that the various bodies keep Canada safe.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is not strictly the NDP's duty to protect our electoral system. It is not the Bloc Québécois's duty to do that either. It is not the Conservatives' duty, and it is clearly not the Liberals' duty. It is the duty of all of us, collectively.

What the Prime Minister does not seem to understand is that the integrity of our democracy is under threat. We should all be concerned, and we must all be part of the solution.

All parties are calling for an independent commission of public inquiry. Why is the Prime Minister stubbornly refusing this inquiry?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, I am not at all opposed to it. I know very well that Canadians need to have confidence in our electoral system, in our democracy and in the institutions that are there to protect them.

That is why I am going to ask an independent special rapporteur to examine whether any structures need improvements and to make the appropriate recommendations. The rapporteur will also be able to reassure Canadians across party lines that everything is being done correctly.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, whether the Prime Minister likes it or not, elections are not the exclusive responsibility of the Prime Minister or his party. They are everyone's responsibility. What is at issue here is democracy, not the Liberals. There must be no doubt in anyone's mind that every person sitting in the House of Commons was elected legitimately, without trickery and without interference. This means that there cannot be any secret meetings and no rapporteur chosen by the Prime Minister.

Why is the Prime Minister refusing to have an independent commission of public inquiry, as everyone is calling for?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, everyone in the House agrees that it is important to rise above partisanship to protect the integrity of our democracy and its institutions. That is why we will choose an independent individual to ensure that the mechanisms proposed are the right ones.

Yes, we have heard from experts that a public inquiry would be the right thing to do, but we also heard experts say that that might not be the best way to get answers.

I believe that handing this over to an independent special rapporteur, an expert who could make a determination, is the right thing for all of us.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, every day, Canadians' confidence in our electoral system is being eroded. Recent reports indicate that at least two times the Prime Minister was advised that Chinese government officials transferred money to Canadian political candidates. This is serious, and Canadians have started to wonder why it seems like the Prime Minister is hiding something.

Why does the Prime Minister not just launch a public inquiry, answer all those questions and give confidence to Canadians in our democracy?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy, first of all, to repeat that we have no information on federal candidates receiving money from China. At the same time, Canadians are concerned about these various reports and allegations, because there are ongoing attempts at interference by China and other countries. That is why we are putting forward an independent expert to look at the entire landscape around foreign interference and the tools we have, and make a determination about how we can not just ensure that everything is being done to protect Canadians and democracy, but give Canadians confidence that everything will continue to be done.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it seems like the Prime Minister is more interested in protecting himself than protecting the electoral system.

Every day, new things come up. Every day, there are new allegations of foreign interference. This undermines confidence in our electoral system. Canadians want to know why there is such secrecy around this.

Why does the Prime Minister not launch a public inquiry?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, some experts are saying that a public inquiry is necessary and would help provide some answers. However, other extremely credible experts are saying that a public inquiry may not help find the answers to restore Canadians' trust.

We know that Canadians want to be reassured about the fact that all the right mechanisms are in place. We will ask an independent expert to look at everything we need to restore Canadians' confidence and start the process. It may be a public inquiry, a judicial review or another type of inquiry.

We know that there are mechanisms—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Global News reported, “Three weeks before Canada’s 2019 federal election, national security officials allegedly gave an urgent, classified briefing to senior aides from [the] Prime [Minister's]...office, warning them that one of their candidates was part of a Chinese foreign interference network.”

Can the Prime Minister tell us who that candidate was?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians well know that issues around national security are extremely important to deal with, including by elected officials and parliamentarians. This was a point of significant disagreement between the previous Harper government and our party in opposition, which is why we committed to creating the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, where parliamentarians from all parties receive top secret clearances and are allowed to dig into everything national security agencies are doing. That is exactly what we have allowed for.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, has CSIS warned the Prime Minister, his staff, his party or anyone else that any member of his current caucus or cabinet may be part of a foreign interference network, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as all members in this House well know, our intelligence agencies and officials work very hard every single day to keep Canadians, including Canadians of all different backgrounds and including all parliamentarians, safe from the impacts of foreign interference. Their work is carefully scrutinized by a number of oversight bodies, including NSIRA and NSICOP, that allow parliamentarians and experts to ensure that CSIS and other intelligence agencies are doing everything necessary to keep Canadians and our institutions safe.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, has CSIS warned the Prime Minister, his staff or members of his party that members of his caucus or cabinet are part of a foreign interference network, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will know that issues of national security and foreign interference can often be highly sensitive, which is why we have created bodies like NSICOP and NSIRA and other mechanisms to oversee the important and top secret work that our intelligence agencies. We need to make sure they are doing everything necessary to protect Canadians and make sure that governments are held accountable for acting on information that they could have received from our intelligence agencies. These are processes we have put in place since 2015 that we will continue to work with.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, is it yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we well know that issues of national security can be highly challenging to discuss as parliamentarians on the open floor of the House of Commons. That is why, over the objections of the former minister in the Harper government that objected to the creation of a national security and intelligence oversight committee, who is now the leader of the opposition, we went ahead and created a body that allows members of Parliament to get cleared to top secret levels so they can look into this question and all questions in a way that does not compromise national security.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, is it yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, issues around national security have deep implications for the safety and well-being of Canadians and those who serve to keep Canadians safe, sometimes in extraordinarily dangerous positions here and around the world. That is why we have created bodies that allow parliamentarians to get top secret clearance so they can look directly at everything that is done without putting at risk the brave women and men who serve this country to keep all Canadians safe.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, CSIS warned the Prime Minister's Office three weeks before the 2019 election that at least one candidate was identified as implicated in a foreign interference network. Is that member in the Prime Minister's caucus or cabinet, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have created formal processes where parliamentarians from all parties, including from the member's own party, can get top secret clearances to look into matters impacting national security and the safety of Canadians without putting at risk the women and men who serve in our intelligence communities here in Canada and around the world so they are able to continue to do their jobs of keeping Canadians safe. I know that no one in this House wants to put anyone who serves this country at risk.