Marco Mendicino

[Democratic Institutions, May 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we have been taking the work of fighting against foreign interference very seriously since 2015. Again, the contradiction is the Conservatives, who want to say they are taking this seriously, yet voted against the new authorities that we granted to our national security establishment to fight this scourge. The fact that they do not want to support taking a briefing so that they can equip themselves with the information to have a responsible, thoughtful conversation about this I think lays bare that they do not take it seriously.

Again, when will you take the briefing?

[Democratic Institutions, May 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite had been paying attention, she would have noted that we did a public consultation on the creation of a foreign agent registry by listening to Canadians, by working with diaspora communities to make sure that we understand their concerns around marginalization and stigmatization. The best way forward is for the Conservative Party of Canada to take the briefing.

I have a simple question, through you, Mr. Speaker, to them. When will you take the briefing?

[Democratic Institutions, May 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the only cover-up that is occurring right now is the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, who continues to cover his own eyes from the classified briefing that we offer him. The irony is that a member of his own Conservative caucus, the member for Durham, at least took a briefing from CSIS.

Now I say, through you, Mr. Speaker, to the member: take the briefing, learn the information and do the work of fighting foreign interference together.

[Public Safety, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, every single one of us in this chamber has a responsibility to take the issue of foreign interference seriously. What we have seen from the Conservatives is the exact opposite.

They have voted against legislation to give our national security establishment more powers to fight this scourge.

We heard their own national campaign director in the last election say that members of their caucus did not take this issue seriously and now we have the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada who refuses to take the briefing. To him, I say, “Take the briefing and take this issue seriously, so that we can fight foreign interference together.”

[Democratic Institutions, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague about putting Canadians and members of all the diaspora communities at the centre of our approach. This is exactly what Mr. Johnston recommends, namely, that we hold public hearings to engage in a conversation based on facts, not on fear, and to study all our options for creating new tools to protect our institutions.

This is not a partisan issue. It is a Canadian undertaking.

[Democratic Institutions, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect for my colleague, the independent special rapporteur, Mr. Johnston, meticulously reviewed classified information. He verified the findings of two other independent panels regarding the fact that the 2019 and 2021 elections were free and fair. Now, he is recommending that we invite all Canadians and everyone to have an open and transparent conversation about creating new tools to defend our democratic institutions.

[Democratic Institutions, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives can continue to malign Mr. Johnston despite the fact that he has distinguished public service, which was recognized by a former Conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper.

The fact is that his first report speaks for itself in its quality. It looked at the most accessible information and verified that the 2019 and 2021 elections were free and fair, and it carves out a path in order to bring Canadians along in a way in which we can protect our democratic institutions. It is solely the Conservatives who want to continue to engage in partisanship rather than defend the national interest. They should reverse course.

[Democratic Institutions, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader is the one who wants to cover his eyes from the information.

We have insisted that we are prepared to work with the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada to make sure that he has access to the same classified information that Mr. Johnston had, that the two panels who verified the integrity of the 2019 and 2021 elections had, that NSICOP will have and that NSIRA will have. It is he and he alone who refuses to take this issue seriously because he refuses to take the briefing.

[Democratic Institutions, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada is sinking in the quicksand of his own logic when calling the briefings fake. What does he think the public servants who work in the security establishment have been doing, other than advising the government on how we can protect the people who defend our democracy every day?

If he is seriously about it, he will take the briefings, roll up his sleeves, sit at the table and help us defend our democracy from foreign interference.

[Democratic Institutions, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada who is silencing himself by refusing to take the briefings. It is the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada who is covering his own eyes from the same information that Mr. Johnston had access to, which other non-partisan professional public servants had access to. It leaves Canadians wondering why. Is it because he would rather play partisan games than do the hard work? I think we know the answer to that question and it is yes.