Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, colleagues. I am also one of the 18 members of Parliament and senators who are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. APT31 targeted us way back in 2021 and 2022. Now, what is shocking is that as parliamentarians we were never informed that we were the subject matter of a hack attempt or cyber-attack by the Communist regime in China.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think Kory is totally and completely wrong about that. Obviously, he can speak for himself in terms of his understanding of the Reform Act. The Reform Act is very clear about how caucuses make decisions, and I would only say that I wish the Liberal Party had followed the law with respect to the Reform Act and taken those votes at the beginning of Parliament, because it's a concern if that law is not being followed.

Justice committee  We just passed the third reading in the House of Commons of Bill C-332, which is now on its way to the Senate. Once this bill is passed, it will make coercive and controlling behaviour a criminal offence. As the new national director of public prosecutions, what actions will you be taking to prepare the prosecution service to handle these new cases?

Countering Foreign Interference Act  I am glad to see that the House has come together to see the bill passed through by the end of tomorrow. I hope that the Senate will take the bill under way with the seriousness that it deserves.

Countering Foreign Interference Act  Madam Speaker, the hon. member points out amendments that were made to the bill that would see the commissioner not only appointed after consultations with the leaders in the House of Commons and Senate, but also after resolutions are adopted by the House and the Senate. I think that would strengthen the independence of the commissioner while also ensuring that the commissioner is situated within the machinery of government, within the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Countering Foreign Interference Act  The commissioner would be appointed by the Governor in Council after consultation with leaders in the House of Commons and in the Senate, and after resolutions in the House of Commons and in the Senate are adopted. This would ensure that while the commissioner is situated within the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, within the machinery of government, the commissioner would have a degree of independence to manage and to interpret the act, to issue notices of compliance, to issue administrative monetary penalties and to refer matters to law enforcement for criminal prosecution.

Government Operations committee  New regulations that were introduced held greater scrutiny to demonstrate, you know, how many regulations would be eliminated but also to focus on outcomes-based measures, evidence, and a risk-based approach focusing on outcomes. Reform was decentralized, so each agency was responsible for tracking, reporting and monitoring progress. I mention this because we're looking at reforms to what the Treasury Board is doing.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  If a person is briefed, and they are required as a condition of that briefing to tell no one, to action the information in no way, what possible action could be taken? We have a law that applies to every party, although I'm not sure it is being used. The Reform Act requires every caucus to take a vote at the beginning of Parliament on a mechanism whereby caucus members could be involved in a decision about caucus membership. Let's suppose that a leader becomes aware that there's a concern.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's interesting that you mentioned the Reform Act—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  One of the former directors of communications for Stephen Harper, Kory Teneycke, said that the Reform Act being used as an excuse is a “false construct”. He said that getting the briefing is “an opportunity to demonstrate leadership, and I think that they should welcome it”.

Foreign Affairs committee  As explained to me, that particular headset is not currently approved. I suspect it was approved.... It was a Senate headset. My apologies. I guess we're using different headsets.

Foreign Affairs committee  Globally, those risks are growing. I would draw your attention to a letter sent by a group of U.S. senators to EU officials last year, wherein they pointed out that in July 2012, Bulgarian authorities arrested an IRGC operative suspected of planning an attack on a synagogue in Sofia. In 2016, German officials arrested IRGC-sponsored assassins.

Countering Foreign Interference Act  One I particularly liked was giving public office holders a three-year window when they could not operate, but unfortunately that did not pass. Hopefully the Senate may take up some of our ideas. We shall see.

Countering Foreign Interference Act  Public safety officials were not able to comment specifically on what kind of time frame they would need, but I think they understand from the questioning they received from members of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security that we treat the registry with seriousness and that we have high expectations of that. Again, I hope the other place, the Senate, understands the urgency and passes the bill so it can land on the Governor General's desk in short order.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Are you prepared to review both parliamentary privilege and how far to go to protect our privacy at the expense of interference? What do you think? We want to review everything, but do you think we really need to reform and question ourselves?