Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, as we said many times and as I already said before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs several weeks ago, as ministers, we get regular briefings on threats of foreign interference. We also provided provincial authorities with briefings or access to the senior officials responsible for our intelligence agencies so that they could understand the nature of the threat, which is always changing, and take the necessary measures in their jurisdictions to do what we did, which is to strengthen our democratic institutions.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, my colleague is fully aware that CSIS senior officials talk to federal government authorities on a regular basis to advise us on ways to strengthen our democratic institutions. That is precisely what we have been doing ever since we formed government. The appointment of the Right Hon.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to answer the question from my colleague from Miramichi—Grand Lake in New Brunswick. As has been said on many occasions in the House, we think Canadians benefit from a non-partisan, fact-based conversation about these very serious issues. We know the Conservative Party is seeking to turn this issue into a partisan circus.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, we obviously share the leader of the NDP's concern about the importance of not stigmatizing communities in Canada. I think all members of the House know that our government wants to have a respectful non-partisan, fact-based conversation around these allegations and around how we can work together to further reinforce our democratic institutions to ensure that foreign interference is something that is always countered by the government.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, as I just said a moment ago, we share the concerns of the NDP leader and of all Canadians. As for the need to have a discussion on these issues, a non-partisan, fact-based discussion, we have institutions already in place that are doing important work. We have asked the Right Hon.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, we fully understand the concerns of Canadians about allegations of foreign interference in our democratic institutions. Those concerns are shared and they should be shared by all MPs in the House of Commons. They are certainly shared by our government. We have put in place robust measures to counter foreign interference, and we have strengthened those measures in recent years.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, my colleague is fully aware that our government has taken the threat of foreign interference seriously from the very beginning. That is why we put in place a series of measures that enabled a panel of senior officials chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council to confirm that the 2019 and 2021 elections were indeed free and democratic.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that we did not ignore these warnings. The former Conservative government ignored them when it was in power. We did the opposite. We put in place a suite of measures to strengthen our democratic institutions and to share intelligence vital to national security with parliamentarians.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, our hon. colleague knows very well that our government, unlike the previous Conservative government, immediately took steps to strengthen Canadian democratic institutions against the ongoing threat of foreign interference, which CSIS identified. My colleague likes to quote CSIS reports.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, our colleague should be careful not to make outrageous allegations that he knows very well have no basis in truth. Our government, from the beginning, took the issue of foreign interference very seriously. We put in place a number of steps, including a National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, created by law, with access to all relevant documents and officials, to make assessments about this and other national security issues.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that, on the contrary, the Prime Minister and our government took this important issue seriously from the beginning, by seeking to strengthen Canadian democratic institutions against interference from China and other countries. This is not a new phenomenon in Canada or elsewhere around the world.

Transportation  Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member will acknowledge that our government has made multi-billion dollar investments in improving Canada's public transit infrastructure in large municipalities and in small rural communities as well. The member correctly identifies that, during the acute months of COVID, our government stepped up, in partnership with provinces, to support municipalities to operate transit systems that were critical for essential workers to be able to serve people during COVID.

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question. It gives me an opportunity to remind him of how well we work with the Government of Quebec on infrastructure issues. I have had extremely constructive discussions with Minister Julien on many occasions. I am sure that, by March 31, we will come to an agreement with the Government of Quebec on an important list of infrastructure projects like the ones my colleague talked about.

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we will not deny the municipalities of Quebec or the Government of Quebec federal funding for projects as important as the public transit projects my colleague talked about. For example, look at the blue line in Montreal or the tramway in Quebec City.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, the Bloc is obviously trying to make us believe that it is serious about protecting our institutions, but let us take a look at its record. When measures were put in place to protect our elections, the Bloc voted against them. When we took steps to prevent foreign money from influencing our elections, the Bloc voted against them.