Democratic Institutions  It is no wonder the Liberals are blocking the truth. The Prime Minister has benefited from dictator dollars through the Trudeau Foundation and a sweetheart book deal pushed by the Communist regime's propagandists. The Liberals' plan to have a secret committee with secret evidence, secret hearings and a secret conclusion is just not acceptable.

Business of Supply  Lastly, The Globe and Mail also reported: China appears to have targeted [the Liberal Prime Minister] in a foreign influence operation after he became Liberal Leader in 2013, according to a national security source who said Beijing’s plan involved donating a significant sum of money to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. Notably, that was $200,000. More than that, the Trudeau Foundation has since returned the money. It has been a couple of years that it has had it, but now that we know all this information, the foundation has returned it.

Business of Supply  The current rapporteur appointed by the Prime Minister is on the board of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. We have nothing against the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, but let us not forget that the foundation received $200,000 from people who are very close the Communist government in Beijing.

Business of Supply  Ian Shugart, Greta Bossenmaier, Nathalie Drouin, Gina Wilson and Marta Morgan, members of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol Panel during the 2019 general election, (ix) James Judd, author of the assessment of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol for the 2019 general election, to appear on his own, (x) a panel consisting of David Morrison, François Daigle, Rob Stewart and Marta Morgan, members of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol Panel during the 2021 general election, (xi) David Vigneault, Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, to appear on his own for two hours, (xii) John McCall MacBain former Chair of the Board of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, (xiii) Élise Comtois, former Executive Director of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, (xiv) the Hon. John McCallum, former Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, to appear on his own for one hour, (xv) Jennifer May, Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, to appear on her own for one hour; (c) for the purposes of this study, it be an instruction to the committee that, (i) it hold at least one additional meeting, for a duration of three hours, during each House sitting week concerning this study, (ii) it hold at least one meeting during the adjournment period beginning Friday, March 31, 2023, if necessary, for the purposes of paragraph (a), (iii) any proceedings before the committee in relation to any motion concerning non-compliance with paragraph (a) of this order shall, if not previously disposed of, be interrupted 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; (d) for the purposes of this study, the committee shall, notwithstanding paragraph (p) of the special order adopted on Thursday, June 23, 2022, have the first priority for the use of House resources for committee meetings; and (e) the evidence and documentation adduced by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs during the current session in relation to its study of foreign election interference shall be deemed to have been laid upon the table and referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

Committees of the House  He deserves better than this kind of smear. I do not think I will ever be invited to a Trudeau Foundation dinner; I would be very surprised if I were. However, when we have institutions that actually serve the public, it is not acceptable to decide to try and smear them as though they are some kind of Chinese, communist-run foundation of friends and pals.

Committees of the House  Johnston's résumé, obviously, but I will clearly question his proximity to the Trudeau family, with the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation—

Committees of the House  It is impossible to restore the confidence that has been shaken by the Prime Minister's inaction on this file without a public inquiry, not a special rapporteur with close family ties to the Prime Minister, not someone on the Trudeau Foundation board. We support the call for a full public inquiry and we are just disappointed that it took so long to drag the NDP kicking and screaming to ensure that the Prime Minister's chief of staff testifies at committee.

Democratic Institutions  If one looks up eminent Canadian in the dictionary, one will see a picture of David Johnston, which is why it is all the more disappointing that he would take this position, given the real perception of conflicts of interest from his time with the Trudeau Foundation and his role leading the controversial Leaders' Debates Commission. Should David Johnston return anything less than a recommendation for an open and transparent public independent inquiry led by someone agreed to by all parties, it will be completely reasonable for Canadians to ask if the fix was in.

Democratic Institutions  He has appointed a friend, neighbour from the cottage and member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation to produce a report that will take months. Will he finally end the cover-up and launch a public inquiry today?

Democratic Institutions  He has named his neighbour, family friend, ski buddy and member of the Beijing-financed Trudeau Foundation to look into the matter, which is nothing more than a delay. Will the Prime Minister allow Canadians to get to the truth and prevent this from happening again before the next election, with a full public inquiry now?

Business of Supply  However, the Prime Minister describes the individual he chose as his adviser as a close personal and family friend and as a member of the Beijing-funded Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, which returned a contribution of $200,000, that we know about, back to the dictatorship in Beijing. Are they telling me that with 38 million people in this country, the Prime Minister could not find someone whom he does not call a close personal friend and who does not sit on his family's foundation?

Business of Supply  There are many good and compelling reasons to want some sunshine and daylight on this matter, but the part that makes me not want to vote for the motion is the excessive hyperbole and partisanship and some of the cheap shots at people like David Johnston and at the Trudeau Foundation, calling it Chinese-funded. This sort of thing drives away independent-minded and really committed Canadians. Would the hon. member help me understand how we can approach this issue in committee without it becoming toxic?

Business of Supply  However, because part of this public inquiry would have to investigate what the Liberal leader knew, I do not believe this individual is the right choice if we look at his record. He is a member of the Trudeau Foundation, for example. He aids in appointing board members and crafting its bylaws. He was also the commissioner of the leaders' debates in 2019, which appointed the WE co-founder Craig Kielburger to the advisory board of that commission.

Business of Supply  He was of course referring to Mr. Johnston. Mr. Johnston is a member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. He has a cottage next to the Prime Minister's. He is a family friend. He is a close personal friend of the Prime Minister, a friend since childhood. Can anyone seriously try to tell us that Mr.

Business of Supply  When he spoke about the report, was he referring to the report by Morris Rosenberg, a friend of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation? Was he speaking about the special rapporteur, Mr. Johnston, who is a friend of the Prime Minister? Is that how they are trying to rebuild public trust? Is that how they are trying to avoid conflicts of interest?