Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, our hon. colleague keeps referring to some secret committee. I think that would be very disparaging for the women and men who serve on the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. We set up, in legislation, an oversight mechanism to look at these very issues, something the previous Conservative government refused to do.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend likes to refer to what CSIS said. Let us talk about what it said in 2013, when the Leader of the Opposition was the minister responsible for democratic institutions. It specifically warned, 10 years ago, “When diaspora groups in Canada are subjected to clandestine and deceptive manipulation by a foreign power in order for it to garner support for its policies and values, these activities constitute a threat to the security of Canada.”

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the question from the NDP leader. We share his concerns, as should all members of the House of Commons, about the importance of strengthening our democratic institutions. That is exactly what we have done since coming to power. Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced other additional measures to increase this protection.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was very clear yesterday. Since taking office, we have implemented robust, concrete measures to counter foreign interference in our elections. We also asked a special rapporteur to go over all these issues and, transparently, give the government recommendations for next steps.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, we share precisely that concern with my hon. colleague opposite. To reassure Canadians, as we have been doing since we first formed government, our intelligence agencies and Canadian institutions are resilient, and we have introduced measures to counter interference in the Canadian electoral system.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have reassured Canadians quite a bit about the importance of countering foreign interference in elections. That is something my colleague cannot say. He talked about a 10-year period. However, 13 years ago, intelligence agencies raised the importance of countering foreign interference in elections.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows very well that our government has taken very robust measures to protect democratic institutions from foreign interference. Last night, the Prime Minister announced additional measures that will reassure Canadians not only that our democratic institutions are protected from foreign interference, but that those who seek to interfere with these very institutions will be held to account.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, we did not need another reason to see that the Leader of the Opposition has never taken this issue seriously. In fact, yesterday, he said something that was shocking. When I pointed out to him that this had existed as a challenge to Canadian democratic institutions, including when he served as minister of democratic reform, he said that of course the previous Conservative government did nothing about it because it was not to its partisan advantage to do anything about it.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned 2013. I thought he was going to say that that was when CSIS identified the potential threat of Chinese interference in our election. Who was the minister responsible for the integrity of democratic institutions in 2013? It was the current Leader of the Opposition.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, as I said a few moments ago, since we formed government, we have acknowledged the threats of foreign interference in our democratic system, in our democratic institutions. That is why we amended the Canada Elections Act to prevent foreign contributions to our election campaigns.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that we must work together to do whatever it takes to safeguard elections in Canada and our democratic institutions. I have good news for him: That is exactly what our government has been doing since we came to power. We are always looking for advice on how to strengthen the robust measures that are already in place.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that we must work together, as parliamentarians, precisely to counter foreign interference in our democratic institutions. My colleague knows this very well because she sits on the parliamentary committee. I look forward to seeing her when I attend on Thursday.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, as my colleague clearly stated, our government took this matter seriously the moment we took office. My colleague across the way claims people looked the other way, but he knows that is not the case. As my colleague pointed out, there were threats over 10 years ago, and if his government had taken them seriously, it might have implemented robust measures like the ones we implemented specifically to counter this kind of unacceptable interference.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, I believe that our government has been very transparent about our efforts to counter foreign interference in our elections and our democratic system. We look forward to working with all parliamentarians in the House of Commons and the Senate. That is exactly why we created, for example, a parliamentary committee to study these and other issues and to report to Canadians.

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, our government is taking the issue of foreign interference in Canada's democratic institutions very seriously. As my colleague heard, our government has taken unprecedented steps since we formed the government in 2015 to put in place a series of measures precisely to provide greater transparency and understanding to Canadians on a threat that has existed for well more than 13 years, which has been publicly discussed for over a decade.