Michael Chong

[Democratic Institutions, December 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, CSIS advised the Prime Minister in its top secret briefing note that the way to combat foreign interference was through “a policy that is grounded in transparency and sunlight in order to highlight the point that [foreign interference] should be exposed to the public”.

Why are the Prime Minister and the government not heeding this advice? Why are they not going public and telling Canadians exactly which candidates and which riding associations were involved in Beijing's foreign interference?

[Democratic Institutions, November 29th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, CSIS also said in those briefings that the government's response to foreign interference should be “grounded in transparency and sunlight” so that foreign interference is “exposed to the public”.

The government's response to our legitimate questions has been anything but; it has stonewalled us for weeks. Commissioner Lucki said yesterday that the RCMP has investigations into broad foreign interference, including “interference in democratic processes.”

I have a simple question. Do these investigations include the 2019 or 2021 election?

[Democratic Institutions, November 29th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the government is not answering our very legitimate questions. We know the Prime Minister has been briefed at least three times about foreign interference since the 2019 election. In the briefings, CSIS mentioned Beijing’s foreign interference and also mentioned politicians and riding associations being targeted.

I have a simple question. Was the Prime Minister told about Beijing targeting candidates in the 2019 or 2021 election?

[Democratic Institutions, November 24th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, our questions are not about the overall integrity of the 2019 and 2021 elections, nor questioning whether overall our elections are free and fair. We are asking who knew what, when, about Beijing's interference in our elections.

The Prime Minister said, in response to questions, “I do not have any information, nor have I been briefed on any federal candidates receiving any money from China.”

The government is parsing its words and is obfuscating, so let me ask this question. Has the government received any information about election interference by Beijing?

[Democratic Institutions, November 23rd, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, “The allegations in the Globe story are false.” That is what the Prime Minister's response was to the Globe report that he interfered in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

“I do not have any information, nor have I been briefed on any federal candidates receiving any money from China.” That was the Prime Minister's response to the Global News report.

The Prime Minister sows doubt when these kinds of reports are published. The best way to protect the integrity of a democracy is transparency, so when will the Prime Minister be transparent about all the facts concerning the 2019 election funding of candidates?

[Democratic Institutions, November 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the 2011 election was free and fair, but that did not prevent an investigation from taking place about the Guelph robocall scandal.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister also said, “I have asked my officials to examine these media reports and give all possible answers—everything they can—to the parliamentary committee that’s looking into this.”

Will the government assure the House that the procedure and House affairs committee will get all the answers and all the documents it is seeking and not defy the committee, this House and you, Mr. Speaker, as it did with the Winnipeg lab documents?

[Foreign Affairs, November 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, Global News reported on November 7 that the Prime Minister had been briefed last January about federal candidates receiving money from Beijing. We started asking questions a week later, on November 14, but it took until yesterday, November 20, for the Prime Minister to say, “I do not have any information, nor have I been briefed, on any federal candidates receiving any money from China.”

Why did it take the Prime Minister two weeks to say that he had not been briefed on election candidates receiving money from Beijing?

[Energy Industry in Germany, November 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, this past week, Germany inaugurated its first liquefied natural gas terminal. Germany started construction after the war in Ukraine began on February 24 to get off Russian gas. Before Russia's war on Ukraine, Germany had no LNG terminals. It took Germany 194 days to approve and build this new LNG terminal in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven. It took 194 days, and four more are on the way shortly.

Germany has a stronger set of environmental standards than Canada, and Germany has reduced greenhouse gas emissions more than Canada. Germany is also led by a left of centre Social Democratic chancellor, and its minister of economic affairs and climate action is a Green Party minister. Our government needs to ask itself how Germany can approve and build a new LNG terminal in 194 days, while it takes a decade or more to approve and build a single LNG terminal in this country.

[Democratic Institutions, November 16th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, we have been asking for years for a plan from the government to combat Beijing's meddling in our democracy, but it has failed to act, and now we have a situation where candidates are receiving illicit funds from Beijing funnelled through its Toronto consulate. Canadians deserve answers. Who are these candidates? Are they members of the House? Are they going to be candidates in the next federal election?

Again, who are these 11 election candidates?

[Democratic Institutions, November 16th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the government is refusing to answer a very simple question: Who are the 11 election candidates who, in the 2019 election, received hundreds of thousands of dollars funnelled by Beijing through its Toronto consulate?

Yesterday, the Prime Minister talked to President Xi about these 11 candidates, but the government and the Prime Minister have yet to tell the House who these 11 candidates are. What are they hiding?