Jagmeet Singh

[Grocery Industry, October 23rd, 2024]

Have you actually ever been to a grocery store?

[Grocery Industry, October 23rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I recognize that the Prime Minister is distracted, but a recent survey that came out shows that over half of Canadians are having a hard time with the cost of groceries. Too many in this chamber are more worried about themselves than kids going to sleep hungry in our country.

Why has the Prime Minister refused to take action on painful food prices?

[RCMP Allegations of Foreign Interference by the Government of India, October 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the truth is exactly as the member described it: People are very afraid. I met with community members who talk about the impact this has had on their lives. I have talked to folks who just hear about this and are worried about what it means. People who have seen the impacts of guns and gangs in their lives know that, if more guns and gangs are encouraged, incited, promoted or supported, it means that everyone's life is at risk. It means there is more danger and less security. People feel a deep sense of unease.

We have a responsibility in the House; we need to make a commitment that we are going to do everything possible to keep people safe. As the member pointed out, there are serious critiques of both the Liberals and Conservatives. The Liberals have been very slow to act. In fact, they have resisted action time and time again. Far worse, the Conservatives do not even want to act. They do not want to know what is going on. Not only is the party compromised, but I think their leadership is compromised with the unwillingness to put the country first. It should disqualify the Conservative leader from seeking any higher office. If a person is unwilling to know what is going on, if there are serious and imminent threats impacting Canadians and they do not want to know, then that disqualifies them from being able to lead this country.

[RCMP Allegations of Foreign Interference by the Government of India, October 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I did not mention presence, I just mentioned their absence, but I understand that I cannot mention the fact that no Conservative member is in the House. I should not mention that they are not present at all.

What I will mention, though, is that this is very serious. This is something we might have thought was maybe a spy film when we heard about it. That a foreign government hired gang members to attack and terrorize community members, to kill Canadians, is something someone would think is the intro for a film. However, this is real life. This is what is going on in Canada. This is the RCMP's evidence being brought before Canadians, so we need to take it seriously. All leaders need to realize that the priority now is keeping Canada safe. All Canadians are at risk when a foreign government is so cavalier that it engages in dangerous activities in that way. All Canadians must take this seriously.

[RCMP Allegations of Foreign Interference by the Government of India, October 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I see absolutely no reason the Conservative leader should not get his security and receive information concerning allegations that directly touch his party. Not only that, but I also want to point out that there is not a single Conservative member in the House right now. Given how serious this is, as we are talking about a matter of this severity—

[RCMP Allegations of Foreign Interference by the Government of India, October 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.

New Democrats fundamentally believe, as do many people in the House, that Canadians have the right to feel safe. They should feel safe in their homes. They should be safe when they go to work, at their places of work and when they come back home again. I know, though, that when guns and gangs are involved and bullets are flying, no one is safe. Even if it is a particular target, there is an impact on everyone in that community. This includes everyone who is walking around the block, kids who are playing in the streets and kids who are playing at a park nearby; everyone is at risk when there is violence.

The reality is that what we have learned from the RCMP is something that I do not think any of us have heard in our lifetime. The RCMP has credible evidence that a foreign government directed, engaged, hired and instructed gang members in Canada to commit acts of violence against Canadians. That is an outrageous scenario, but it is where we find ourselves. That foreign government is the Indian government. The Modi government hired gangs to target Canadians.

I remember receiving numerous calls from people across the country saying that they were being extorted, that they were worried about the rise in violence in their communities and that they were worried about gun violence. There was an increase in car robberies as well. The RCMP said, in a very shocking statement regarding the length and breadth of the crime that we saw in the past year, that there are significant ties to gang activities directed, allegedly, by Indian government agents, by Indian government diplomats. They were expelled.

From the beginning, when we started seeing more and more mounting evidence of foreign interference, New Democrats took it seriously; we said we needed a public inquiry. This is not something for partisan games. This is something to be looked at with the seriousness and the independence of an inquiry, so we can have clear recommendations that keep Canadians safe from interference. At every turn, the Liberals put up blockades. They said no. They said that a public inquiry was not necessary. We had to fight to get to the public inquiry.

What is even worse is the fact that, in the House of Commons, there is only one leader of a federal party who refuses to get security clearance. There is only one federal leader who refuses to find out what is actually going on. I believe that we need a united front; Canadians expect our leaders to come together and say that, if a foreign government is engaging in a campaign of terror on Canadians, we are all going to stand together and denounce that; we are all going to say it is wrong. The behaviour of the Conservative leader shows the Modi government that there is one leader in Canada willing to look the other way, who does not want to know the details about this foreign interference. He does not want to know what is going on or have additional information that could help keep Canada safer and could address the allegations of foreign interference that touch his own party.

Let us recap what the Conservative leader knows. He knows there are allegations about his own leadership contest and a previous leadership contest for the Conservative Party of Canada, saying that foreign governments were involved in some element of interference. Specifically, there are allegations about the Indian government. He knows that. It is in the public discourse. He also knows that members of his caucus and/or candidates are also potentially compromised. He knows that he could seek security clearance. He has been offered that opportunity, yet he refuses.

Refusing to get a security clearance means that the Conservative leader will allow the rot in his party to continue. He is clearly saying that he is not prioritizing Canada; instead, he is putting his partisan interests ahead of the country. He is saying that protecting his party is more important than protecting the country, and he is wrong in that.

In today's emergency debate, one thing is clear. We need to send a very clear message to the Indian government that parliamentarians stand united against this type of activity: criminal behaviour, putting Canadians' lives at risk and putting our security and safety at risk. All of us take this seriously, and that is why I urge the Conservative leader to get his security clearance, find out what is going on and take the necessary steps to protect his party and, most importantly, our country.

Turning back to the federal government, there are additional steps we are calling for. We said that we need a Canada-India relations committee to look at the ongoing elements of interference by the Indian government. It would keep this front and centre in our minds, so we can constantly make sure that every step possible is being taken to keep Canadians safe and that any material is reviewed as it comes forward. We have also demanded an emergency meeting of the public safety committee to review additional steps to keep Canadians safe.

We are calling on the government to work with our allies. We know that the United States is currently dealing with a similar series of circumstances involving the attempted assassination of an American citizen. The American government has laid charges. It has charged Indian agents, and it is looking for an additional investigation and inquiry into this. The United Kingdom has also taken steps and is involved in a similar scenario, in which the Indian government is alleged to have interfered with its citizens. Three G7 nations need to work together to send a clear message of denunciation of these heinous acts of violence being perpetrated by the Indian government.

In addition, we have called for another series of measures. There is a violent, extremist, right-wing organization known as the RSS. It is a militant group based out of India that promotes violence against minority communities; it is very divisive, and it has branches across the world, including here in Canada. It needs to be banned. We want the most severe of consequences for anyone found to be involved in this campaign of terror against Canadians, whether as orchestrators on the Indian government side or as individuals carrying out those acts of violence. Everyone needs to be brought to justice and have the full weight of the law imposed upon them. We also want severe and strict sanctions imposed on the diplomats involved. They were expelled, but severe diplomatic sanctions are needed to send a clear message of denunciation.

Finally, what we are hearing from many Canadians is that they are worried about whether there is an information-sharing arrangement between Canada and India. The Indian government has engaged criminal gangs to commit various sorts of violence against Canadians. In light of those allegations, we should be pausing information sharing with that country. We should not be giving intelligence regarding Canadian citizens to a country and a government alleged to have hired gangs to commit violence against Canadians for over a year, including by killing Canadians. This is a time to acknowledge the fear and the worry that Canadians have, as well as the real pain that Canadians are going through.

People have suffered from the impacts of that violence. Canadians have lost loved ones because of it. There are those living with the trauma of having experienced the violence, of being threatened, of being harassed and of having guns fired at their homes. Business owners have been traumatized by extortion. Given how serious this is, New Democrats have said very clearly that this is a moment in which we need to put Canada first and party second.

I ask everyone in the House to put the country first; to put the safety and security of Canadians first; and to put the safety and security of our democracy, our sovereignty and our nation first. I ask them to protect Canadians and do the right thing.

[Request for Emergency Debate, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising to request your consideration of an emergency debate on the issue of foreign interference and, very specifically, the RCMP's allegations of violence and chaos in our communities linked to the Indian government.

A week ago, the RCMP revealed chilling and disturbing information that Indian agents were engaged by Indian government diplomats in a campaign of terror in Canadian communities. This campaign included hiring and directing gang members to shoot at Canadian homes, to shoot at Canadian businesses, to extort Canadian businesses and to engage in car thefts and other criminal activities.

The Prime Minister testified at the Hogue inquiry into foreign interference that a number of parliamentarians, both current and former, have been compromised by foreign powers, including India.

Canadians have been killed on Canadian soil. Bullets have flown in Canadian communities. Businesses and business owners have been threatened. People have been killed. People have been extorted. This is something that makes all Canadians less safe.

It is the responsibility of parliamentarians to take these allegations of crime and threats of violence against Canadians very seriously. It is also the responsibility of members of the House to stand committed to denouncing the Indian government's alleged interference here in Canada and to show a united front, together, so that no one will suggest to the Indian government that people here are willing to turn a blind eye to these acts of criminality.

Given that, Mr. Speaker, I urge you to consider the letter I sent you this morning and grant the emergency debate for today to debate this very serious matter.

[Foreign Affairs, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to propose that a standing committee on Canada-India relations be created. Therefore, if you seek it, you should find unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House recognize: (1) Canada's Foreign Interference Commission has identified the Government of India as a possible foreign interference actor in Canada; (2) an October 2022 CSIS intelligence assessment stated that the Government of India proxy agents have provided electoral support to “a number of politicians at all levels of government”; (3) on October 14, 2014, the RCMP commissioner released findings indicating that agents of the Government of India were involved in serious criminal activity on Canadian soil, posing an ongoing and significant threat to safety; that the House appoint a special committee with a mandate to conduct hearings to examine and review all aspects of Canada-Government of India relationships, including, but not limited to, diplomatic, consular, legal, security, public safety, political and economic relations, provided that:

(a) the committee be composed of 12 members, of which six shall be from the government party, four shall be from the official opposition, one shall be from the Bloc Québécois and one shall be from the New Democratic Party; (b) the whips of the recognized parties shall deposit with the Clerk of the House the list of their members to serve on the committee within four calendar days after the adoption of this motion; (c) changes to the membership of the committee shall be effective immediately after notification by the relevant whips have been filed with the Clerk of the House;

(d) membership substitutions be permitted, if required, in the manner provided for in Standing Order 114(2); (e) the Clerk of the House shall convene an organizational meeting within one week after the adoption of this motion; (f) the chair of the committee shall be a member of the government party, the first vice-chair shall be a member of the official opposition, the second vice-chair shall be a member of the Bloc Québécois and the third vice-chair shall be a member of the New Democratic Party;

(g) the quorum of the committee be as provided for in Standing Order 118, provided that the chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence printed when at least four members are present, including one member of the opposition and one member of the government; (h) the committee be granted all the powers of a standing committee as provided in the standing orders, including the power to: (i) travel, accompanied by the necessary staff inside and outside of Canada; (ii) authorize video and audio broadcasting of any or all proceedings; (i) the provision of Standing Order 106(4) shall also extend to the committee;

(j) the committee shall have the first priority for the use of House resources for committee meetings; and, (k) any proceeding before the committee in relation to a motion to exercise the committee's power to send for persons, papers and records shall, if not previously disposed of, be interpreted upon the earlier of the completion of four hours of consideration or one sitting week after the motion was first moved and in turn every question necessary for the disposal of the motion shall be put forthwith and successively without further debate or amendment.

[Public Safety, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat, country first, party second. I dare the Conservatives to laugh again. I see they are not. They are quiet.

Narendra Modi must not see that a Canadian leader is willing to turn a blind eye to crimes committed against Canadians. Every member of the House must condemn India's interference. There must be consequences for any parliamentarian involved.

Has the Prime Minister directly urged the Conservative leader to get his security clearance?

[Public Safety, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are laughing about this, but people have died as a result, and they have meddled in our politics. The Prime Minister has said that there are multiple Conservative MPs and/or candidates compromised. They may be sitting in the chamber right now, but the Conservative leader chooses ignorance. Has the Prime Minister directly urged the leader of the Conservatives to get his security clearance?