Debates of May 1st, 2023

Democratic Institutions

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, will the Prime Minister finally stand up for this country and its people against a foreign dictatorship that has been interfering in our land for far too long, yes or no?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, over the heckles of the Conservatives on the other side of the aisle, the Prime Minister and our government have been standing up doing the relentless, tireless work of defending—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order, please. This is not a good start to a Monday, and it started off fairly well.

[An hon. member]

It's a terrible start.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

When people start heckling the Speaker, there is a problem.

Are we going to play nice, or do we start getting tough? I will let the hon. Minister of Public Safety start again, and I want to remind hon. members how we are going to scramble things or maybe eliminate a few questions as well.

The hon. minister has the floor.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this government has been doing the concrete, tireless work that is necessary to combat foreign interference and to protect our democratic institutions by creating new powers and adding more resources for all the security and intelligence agencies that are there to protect our communities, our institutions and, most importantly, Canadians. I encourage the Conservative politicians on the other side of the aisle to get behind what is a non-partisan cause and protect Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, at least I got a direct answer. I asked if he would stand up and, of course, he did not stand up. It is very clear that the Prime Minister knew for two years that Beijing thought Canada was uniquely vulnerable to its bullying and interference because we do not have anti-foreign interference laws, unlike the Australians and Americans. For two years after his intelligence bodies warned him of that, he did absolutely nothing.

Will he stand up and do his job now?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, at a pretty young age, I personally learned what it is like to be targeted by an authoritarian communist regime. As a Ukrainian Canadian, I have always known that authoritarian communist regimes particularly target diaspora communities here in Canada. That is wrong. Do members know what makes it easier to target Canada and Canadian democracy? It is when we are divided.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has to stop hiding behind his ministers. The vacation is over. He has work to do.

He wants to talk about taking partisanship out of it. One non-partisan thing to do would have been to recognize that a Conservative MP, or any MP for any party, had his family threatened because of a vote cast on this floor. It would have been to take immediate action against the diplomats who made those threats. That would have been the non-partisan thing to do.

Why did he not do it?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment, and this is uncharacteristic of me, to express my outrage at what has happened to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. It could be any of us in this House who was targeted for actions we have taken. It is an outrage, and we should all express that collectively. The Prime Minister will continue to work for Canadians and for Canadian democracy. We will continue to stand together and make sure that foreign interference will never be tolerated. If a diplomat has broken the Vienna Convention, he or she will be expelled.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is running out of ministers to hide behind. While he sits there and smirks, we have a country that is under foreign influence by a dictatorship that has actually opened police stations in this country. According to a report put out just today, there are two police stations run by Beijing operating in Montreal as we speak.

Will the Prime Minister stand up now and tell us how he will close down these police stations?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I assure the Conservative leader and all members in this chamber that the RCMP has taken concrete action to disrupt and shut down police stations. If more open up, the RCMP will remain vigilant and do the work. In doing that, it will be underpinned by the investments that are earmarked in budget 2023, which the Conservatives have said, without even reading the document, that they will oppose. If they are really interested in protecting Canadians from foreign interference, and that is something we should all be united behind, then they should support budget 2023.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know why the Prime Minister is so afraid to stand up. Maybe it is because he is ashamed that he did absolutely nothing for two years, knowing that a Canadian MP was threatened by a foreign dictatorship. He did not even send the offending diplomat home, and now he has been exposed for it. Then, he puts up a whole myriad of ministers to hide behind, one of whom claimed before that the Chinese police stations were closed. We learn now that they are open.

Given that we cannot believe the minister, why does the Prime Minister not stand up and speak for himself? When will he close these stations?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, because he was here, the Prime Minister stood in his place and answered those questions five times. Ministers of the House also answered questions.

I will say, without equivocation, that the attacks that are taking place on democracy, be they by Russia, China or any authoritarian regime, are something that we must stand in unison against. The attack on one member of this democratic House is an attack on every single one of us. We cannot direct our security and intelligence, but we can sure stand up for democracy.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the end is drawing near. Pascale Fournier, former CEO of the Trudeau Foundation, appeared at committee, and her revelations were troubling. She testified that under her predecessor, Morris Rosenberg, an association with ties to Beijing dictated the terms for transferring the controversial $140,000 donation to the foundation. It was Beijing that dictated those terms and that got Mr. Rosenberg to address the receipt to a location in China and not include—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I must interrupt the member. I am having difficulty hearing. I wish to remind the members—

Is the hon. member done? The hon. member is going to be done if he keeps that up.

The member for Trois‑Rivières may begin again.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Pascale Fournier, former CEO of the Trudeau Foundation, appeared at committee, and her revelations were troubling. She testified that under her predecessor, Morris Rosenberg, an association with ties to Beijing dictated the terms for transferring the controversial $140,000 donation to the foundation. It was Beijing that dictated those terms and that got Mr. Rosenberg to address the receipt to a location in China and not include the donors' names.

However, that same Mr. Rosenberg was then appointed by the Liberals to investigate Chinese foreign interference. He concluded that there was no interference.

Should we blindly believe him?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has repeatedly stated, there has been no relationship between the Prime Minister and the Trudeau Foundation for more than 10 years. It is an independent non-profit organization that hands out scholarships.

It is important that we do not attack an independent foundation here in the House. If the member has questions about the foundation, he should direct those questions to the foundation.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when Ms. Fournier realized that this donation was linked to Beijing, she demanded two things: first, that an investigation be conducted, and second, that members of the foundation's board at the time recuse themselves from the investigation. The foundation refused to comply with either of those demands, and no light was shed on this.

Nevertheless, it was from the Trudeau Foundation that the Liberals recruited their experts, who are supposed to investigate any electoral interference, by China in particular. The Liberals can no longer claim that the truth will be made known without an independent commission of public inquiry.

When will they launch such a commission?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Johnston is the former governor general of Canada. He is known across the country for his independence and expertise. He was appointed during Mr. Harper's time. Of course, all options are open to Mr. Johnston.

Like Mr. Johnston, the House of Commons must ensure that our process is independent and thorough and that the best approach will be taken.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us recap. The Trudeau Foundation accepted a donation from China in 2016. China dictated the terms of the donation to the foundation. The CEO of the foundation later told the media that the donation came from a Canadian company. Years later, the foundation's new CEO wanted to investigate that donation and was persecuted for it.

When Chinese interference started making headlines, the Liberals chose two former foundation members, Mr. Rosenberg and Mr. Johnston, to investigate. What a farce.

When will there be a real independent public inquiry, one that does not involve any members of the Trudeau Foundation, for goodness' sake?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, clearly, the member across the aisle is looking for a conspiracy theory. It is obvious that he is trying to create a connection that is not there.

The foundation in question is independent. The Prime Minister had no direct or indirect relationship with the foundation. The foundation is responsible for scholarships. If the member opposite wants to engage in partisan attacks against an independent organization, I believe that is irresponsible.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, do you know what day it is today? It is tax-filing deadline, and yet thousands of CRA workers are still on strike. For almost two weeks, Canadians have been trying to get through on the phone to have their questions answered and they have been unable to do so.

The government knew when the contract was up and it also knew when the tax-filing deadline was. Therefore, will the government give Canadians a break and extend the tax-filing deadline, and prove to Canadians that it can work instead of just hiding behind non-answers?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken on earlier occasions in the House on the respect that I have for the hon. colleague. However, he knows very well that the process of collective bargaining is instrumental in democracy. That is why the negotiations continue, and we are positive about their progress.

On the extension of deadlines, I wonder if the member would follow the logic of his argument, because if the deadline is ultimately extended, there is always the possibility of course that benefits would be delayed for the Canada child benefit, for OAS and for GIS. These are the implications of what the member is bringing up.