Debates of May 8th, 2023

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, it is essential that every member of the House understand that it is possible to increase the number of newcomers in general while protecting the demographic weight of francophones across the country.

That is clear because, last year, for the first time in our country's history, our government met its target of 4.4% of francophone newcomers. That is very important. Last year, we also had the largest number of newcomers in Canada's history in general.

That is a good thing for our communities.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Century Initiative is strictly about economics. On February 1, its co-founder, Dominic Barton, a former director of McKinsey, was asked if he had considered the future of French. He replied, and I quote, “the focus...was just on economics. It wasn't thinking about the social context. It was on productivity.” There is not a single word about French in the 88 pages of the initiative.

Since it is not considering the future of French, what other studies on this topic did the government consult before adopting the initiative's immigration targets? Will it disclose those studies?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I have good news for my colleague. Our government is the one making the decisions on our country's immigration policy. It is not Mr. Barton, and it is not the Century Initiative.

This is very important. Our government's perspective is economic, social and demographic. It is essential to consider these factors because when we use them, we make the right decisions for our country.

Last year, we protected the demographic weight of francophones across our country and supported the francophone minority community.

Democratic Institutions

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, CSIS informed Canadians and the government that multiple members of this House have been targeted by foreign interference. All parliamentarians need assurance that their safety, their families' safety and their freedom of expression are not threatened. Canadians need to know that their vote counts and that our democratic process is free of foreign interference.

The government needs to assure Canadians that it is acting on these serious allegations. Let us start with some transparency. Have all MPs impacted by interference been fully notified by the government?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I share the concerns of my colleague. That is why last week I tabled an annual report of CSIS, which illustrated that they have provided briefings to 49 federal parliamentarians. We will continue to provide the support that is needed for every member in this chamber to be able to do their job, secure in the knowledge that they are representing their communities in a way that is safe.

This is a government that will continue to do everything that is necessary to defend our democratic institutions, including the people who work in them.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I imagine that just like everyone else you have a good appetite and enjoy a good meal. I also imagine that you like to know what is in your food. This will no longer be the case because of the Liberal government.

The Liberals gave in to the financial interests of the industry, which wants to secretly introduce new GMOs into our food. Voluntary transparency no longer exists. It is an illusion.

Will the Liberals have the courage to stand firm against the interests of the big companies and defend the rights of consumers?

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

Yes, we did establish new rules. Yes, there will be a review process to protect the organic sector across Canada. Yes, we will continue to work with the sector to ensure its growth.

Democratic Institutions

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when something happens once, it is a mistake. When something happens twice, it is a pattern. When something happens three or four or five times, it is a decision.

The Prime Minister and members of his party have all perpetuated the myth that the member for Wellington—Halton Hills knew about the threats against his family because he was briefed two years ago. It is false. At some point, someone made a conscious decision to gaslight Canadians.

Will someone on the other side have the courage to stand up and apologize for the disgusting attempt to discredit a member of this House?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague across the aisle knows full well, both the Prime Minister and I directly reached out to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills to share the concerns with regard to the reports around foreign interference and his family. We offered him a briefing, and we will continue to provide that support going forward.

What is also important is that while the Conservatives talk tough when it comes to national security, they never back it up. They cut nearly a billion dollars out of the national security apparatus. They stood in the way of the additional tools to our national security apparatus, which are there to defend the members of this chamber. If they are serious about uniting behind the cause of defending democracy, they will start doing it today.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, he was not briefed two years ago on it. They know it and they are purposely victim blaming. They are gaslighting Canadians. This is about a member of this House serving his country and the safety of his family in the balance. It is appalling that the Liberals are tarnishing this MP, but it is even worse that the diplomat who perpetuated it is still here, with rights even Canadians do not have, given to him by that government.

If there are no consequences, it will just happen again. The diplomat needs to go back to Beijing, and it needs to happen now. Will they do it today?

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

Mr. Speaker, I first want to say that there was a lot of heat in the House last week about this issue and not a lot of light. I think what we all, on this side of the House, want to do is express our concern for the member for Wellington—Halton Hills and for every Canadian who could be the subject, the target, of any interference from China, from Russia or from any other country in the world.

We will continue to take the steps to ensure that MPs are informed, that Canadians are informed and that we have a safe and secure democracy.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is really trying hard to save face after his complete failure to protect our democracy, Canadians and members of this House from intimidation by the Beijing dictatorship. Last Friday, he doubled down and blamed and attacked the credibility of the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. The Prime Minister claimed that his office had not been briefed and that he knew nothing about this until recently.

Will the Prime Minister stop spreading this categorically false narrative and finally expel this Beijing agent today?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the only falsehood that is being spread today is the outrageous suggestion that the members of the government on this side of the chamber have no care or regard for the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. Nothing could be further from the truth. That is why we are continuing to support him, and we will support all members when it comes to doing their job so that it is free from foreign interference.

The Conservatives need to stop politicizing this issue. That simply plays into the hands of foreign interference. We need to be united in defending our democracy, and we can do that work successfully only if we do it together.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that Canadians do not believe the Prime Minister and, most assuredly, the minister. Canada's spy agency did in fact notify the government two years ago regarding Beijing's threat to a member of this House. Even the Prime Minister's own national security adviser confirmed that her office had received this information in 2021.

Enough of the smoke and mirrors. Will the Prime Minister apologize for deliberately misleading this House, be a leader for once, stand up for the security of all Canadians and finally expel that Beijing agent?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I just want to mention and make sure that everyone is clear that if you are misleading someone, you are doing it unintentionally, but “deliberately misleading” is not acceptable language. I am sure it was an error on the member—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I want to remind everyone that there is certain language that is not allowed in the chamber, and deliberately misleading is not allowed.

The hon. Minister of Public Safety.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for reminding our colleagues in the Conservative Party about that principle. In all candour, the only way that we are going to be able to do the work of defending our institutions is if we rid ourselves of the kind of partisanship and politicization that has been plaguing this subject for weeks.

It should be abundantly clear that if we want to protect our democratic institutions and the people who work in them, including every member in this chamber and their families, then we must do that together. This government has put in place new authorities and transparencies. Let us get behind the cause of defending it so we can have real debates that are rooted in our democratic principles.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what an embarrassing answer. A member of the House and his family were targeted by a bully diplomat from Beijing following a vote in the House. The events occurred two years ago, yet the member was only informed last week.

Since then, the Liberals have been whipped into a frenzy. Instead of supporting our colleague, they have accused him. Who accused him? It was the member for Kingston and the Islands and the member for Winnipeg North. Worse, the member for Papineau and Prime Minister, who had to have known, claims that the opposition member knew, but the member in question told us that is not true.

Are all the Liberal ministers okay with defending a Beijing bully instead of a Canadian MP and his family?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, every minister in our government—and this should be true of every member of the House—agrees that we must work together to protect democratic institutions and to ensure that all members of the House, including our friend from Wellington—Halton Hills, are able to do their jobs as members of Parliament without foreign interference.

This has always been a priority for our government. We have implemented measures that did not exist under the previous government. We will continue to strengthen them further.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, how can the Liberals continue doing something that they never started doing in the first place? The Prime Minister did nothing. The Prime Minister's Office did nothing. The Minister of Foreign Affairs did nothing. The Minister of Public Safety did nothing. There were no arrests and no expulsions. This sends a clear message: Beijing can go on intimidating Canadian MPs, and this Prime Minister will just keep his eyes shut.

The only real consequences are that two members of the House were silenced for trying to put a stop to Liberal disinformation. Why is the Prime Minister putting up with the ongoing presence in Canada of a bullying agent from Beijing?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague seems confused. The person who did nothing to protect our democratic institutions against the already existing threat of foreign interference is the current Leader of the Opposition, when he was the minister responsible for democratic institutions.

Since we formed the government, we have taken action. We will be announcing more action to strengthen the measures we introduced in 2019 and 2021. We will keep on protecting our democratic institutions.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, no country in recent history has planned to triple its population in 75 years. The Century Initiative deserves a responsible, intelligent debate. Quebeckers have some questions, and rightly so. There has been no debate, and the federal government appears to be going ahead with it anyway.

Ottawa's immigration targets for 2025 already match those of the Century Initiative. Would the Liberals like to distance themselves from the Century Initiative, or are they confirming that this is Canada's immigration plan?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I am making decisions that are essential to supporting our economy and ensuring population growth in our community. It is important that every member of the House understand that protecting the demographic weight of francophones in this country can be achieved while also increasing the number of newcomers.

As the member well knows, it is up to the Government of Quebec to set the immigration levels for its province, and it is up to the federal government to set the levels for the entire country. I continue to increase the numbers to support our economy. It is good for Canada, and it is good for Quebec.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

What a coincidence, Mr. Speaker. The federal government's targets are the same as those of the Century Initiative.

The Century Initiative's top priority is economic interests. Dominic Barton confirmed that they did not think about anything else. They did not think about the impact that tripling the population would have on the future of French. They also did not think about indigenous languages or the political weight of the first nations. They did not think about the housing shortage.

The Century Initiative's targets are based only on economic interests, but can the government at least prove that it considered other factors before using those same targets?