Debates of May 31st, 2023

Public Safety

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what is not serious is that we do not have the laws to have the RCMP arrest these Beijing agents who created these police stations.

Why is it that the Americans have been able to arrest the Beijing agents who created the police stations in the United States? It is because they have laws. The Conservative Party has been calling for this for years, especially for the creation of a foreign agent registry.

Why is the Prime Minister protecting Beijing police stations instead of putting in place laws to arrest them?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are in fact creating this foreign agent registry because it is the responsible thing to do.

However, the reality is that the opposition leader's decision to refuse access to the intelligence and briefings needed to get to the bottom of foreign interference demonstrates that he does not want to fix this problem. He does not want to defend the interests of the Chinese communities exploited and attacked by Beijing. The only thing he is interested in is making partisan attacks and continuing his personal attacks.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is all an act with this guy. He would have us believe that if he committed me to secrecy and forced me to take an oath of silence, that would somehow close the Beijing police stations here in Canada. Of course, it would not. What we need is a strong law that will allow our police to arrest them.

The question is very simple. Why is it that the Americans have been able to shut down the Beijing police stations in their country and arrest the agents involved with them, while in this country, the Prime Minister has been able to do neither?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, any serious politician in this place should understand how the Security of Information Act actually works, particularly someone who has sat in cabinet and who was Canada's minister of elections.

The reality is that if the member opposite does not understand how the Security of Information Act works, we would be happy to provide a briefing to him from officials to explain the Security of Information Act, so he can understand that it would be okay for him to take a briefing on the facts of foreign interference and so he can be better informed in his questions and his challenges to government.

The reality—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, they do not have to brief me on the laws. I have actually read them. Subsection 12(1) of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act says that not only would I be silenced from speaking about matters broadly, but I would be prevented from debating them on the floor of the House of Commons, which is exactly what the Prime Minister wants.

He is not going to get it. I will not be gagged. I will not be silenced. I will continue to seek the truth.

Here is the truth that I want him to finally speak to. We have known that there are foreign police stations operating on Canadian soil. We know the Prime Minister's government has given them tax dollars. How much did he give them?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, hiding behind “a veil of ignorance” is very characteristic for a leader who has no interest—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I am going to interrupt the right hon. Prime Minister. I got some complaints because there were some people shouting from this side when the opposition leader was asking a question. I am going to ask the same courtesy from both sides. I do not think it is that hard. It is not that complicated. When somebody is speaking, we do not speak.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, hiding behind “a veil of ignorance” is very characteristic for a leader who has no interest in actual facts. There is nothing stopping him right now from getting cleared, briefed, and disagreeing with the former governor general's conclusions if he so chooses, regardless of his opinions. He is entitled to those. He is not entitled to his own facts.

Please, I really encourage the Leader of the Opposition to get briefed—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Democratic Institutions

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians are entitled to the facts. That is why we want a public inquiry.

We know that Beijing gave $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation. We know that when the scandal broke, he named Mr. Rosenberg to look into it. Rosenberg is with the Trudeau Foundation. When the scandal exploded further, he named Mr. Johnston, also a member of the Trudeau Foundation. What did he do? He named another judge from the Trudeau Foundation to look into the conflict of interest.

Is the Prime Minister afraid of a public inquiry because he has run out of members of the Trudeau Foundation to run it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, while the Leader of the Opposition continues with his personal and partisan attacks, we are going to continue to—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I am sorry. I have a question for all members to reflect on. I do not want anybody to shout the answer out. This is not a question I want answered. What part of “while somebody is speaking, we sit quietly and listen” do we not understand? Write me an email if you want once we are done, and you can explain it to me, because I do not understand it.

The right hon. Prime Minister, from the top, please.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we see that the Leader of the Opposition, on this very serious issue, has not nothing to offer other than partisan attacks and personal attacks, rather than actually dealing with the substance of this serious issue.

To deal with the substance of this serious issue, we have directed intelligence agencies to offer him secure briefings so that he can understand the facts underlying both the former governor general's report and the issue of foreign interference. He has simply refused because he does not want anything, like facts in particular, to get in the way of a good partisan argument.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are entitled to the facts. When Beijing gave $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation, a scandal broke. To investigate, the Prime Minister appointed Mr. Rosenberg, a member of the Trudeau Foundation. The scandal exploded further. He then appointed Mr. Johnston, who is a member of the Trudeau Foundation. To ensure that there was no conflict of interest, Mr. Johnston appointed Mr. Iacobucci, who is a member of the Trudeau Foundation.

Does the Prime Minister not want a public inquiry because he has run out of members of the Trudeau Foundation to run it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has made several comments about how Canadians are entitled to all the facts. However, he understands very well, or he should understand, that members of the armed forces and the intelligence services are working in incredibly complex and difficult situations that make them vulnerable in foreign countries in order to keep Canadians safe. They conduct investigations to uncover the secrets of countries that would do us harm.

The idea that he does not understand how much we, as members of the House and as Canadians, need to protect those who serve Canada in this regard is—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to use another example. The Quebec National Assembly is unanimously asking for information about Ottawa's interference in the democratic process during the 1995 referendum. The Prime Minister is choosing secrecy. This Parliament is asking to have the information from David Johnston's secret briefings entrusted to an independent commissioner. Again, the Prime Minister is choosing to keep his buddy's secrets.

Either the Prime Minister is weak, or he is being used by a foreign power. Is this Prime Minister working for his country, or for the financial interests of his Liberal friends?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member started off by talking about the 1995 referendum and ended by talking about money and the ethnic vote. Let us take a look at what the member just said. The Bloc is caught up in old arguments, and that is just what it is banking on. It always wants to attack—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

In the history of Parliament, there has been one instance when the Speaker decided he was fed up with question period and walked out. The sitting was suspended for about 30 minutes. Today, I am sorely tempted to do the same.

I invite the Prime Minister to begin again from the start.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois leader is bringing us back to the 1995 referendum, even though it is now 2023, and at the end of his question, he alluded to money and the ethnic vote. The Bloc Québécois has truly become a laughing stock for how little they care about foreign interference. They only care about picking a fight here in Ottawa.

We take these issues seriously. We will continue to work with the necessary seriousness on these issues that are important to Canadians, while continuing to create a strong and growing economy, and continuing to fight climate change.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to suggest a hypothesis that explains why we are seeing what we are seeing. Has there ever been a Prime Minister less serious than this one, or one so unworthy of the office he holds?

We are talking about the intimidation of elected officials, illegal election financing, industrial espionage, research funded by Huawei, the Trudeau Foundation and contempt for intelligence officers. We already know more than enough to demand a truly independent and public inquiry, not just this nonsense from his buddy.

Will the Prime Minister scrap his policy, which is damaging to Canada and Quebec, and is good for China?