Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, we look forward to working with our colleague from La Prairie, his leader and the other party leaders to strengthen Canadians' confidence in our democratic institutions. Mr. Johnston's departure gives us all an opportunity to bring down the partisan temperature and

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, as I said at the start of question period, that has always been an option. I know that the Bloc Québécois will never form the government, but the Conservative Party is well aware that a public inquiry involving the most heavily protected national security informatio

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the collaborative tone of the Leader of the Opposition. From the start, we have always said that a public inquiry was a possibility. Mr. Johnston did not recommend a public inquiry and explained why. It is a difficult decision to make in the c

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, how unsurprising to hear that another of my ideas has been branded a waste of time. The Bloc Québécois leader refuses to receive reliable top secret information from our intelligence agencies. Furthermore, Mr. Johnston was invited to appear before a parliamentary com

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, as everyone in the House knows, information from national security agencies must remain secret. Those circumstances exist in every one of Canada's allied countries in this important area. The good news is that we have offered the leaders of the opposition parties, i

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, I think my Bloc Québécois friend might be confused about who kept Canadians in the dark. The Conservative Party did absolutely nothing to address foreign interference, despite the fact that our intelligence agencies raised the issue publicly in 2013. Our government d

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, my colleague is well aware that the simple answer to his question is no. Mr. Johnston took the time to look at all of the documents and he interviewed a number of people who were directly involved in the matter of foreign interference. Mr. Johnston took his job serio

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, since forming government in 2015, we have taken the threat of foreign interference seriously. We were the first government to put in place a suite of non-partisan measures precisely to strengthen our ability to respond to interference in our democratic institutions

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, what was truly exposed for all to see was the Leader of the Opposition's credibility when he refused the government's offer to grant him access to highly sensitive information. He decided he would rather play partisan politics on an issue as critical as protecting o

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, we were disappointed but not surprised that the leader of the Bloc Québécois refused to have access to the most important and confidential information from CSIS. That would have given him a clearer picture of the facts in the whole matter of foreign interference. I,

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, as the government, we took action from the start to create authorities to review our measures to counter foreign interference in our democratic institutions. A committee of parliamentarians representing all parties and having access to the most sensitive information

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, all of Canada's national security allies are taking appropriate action to protect Canada's most secret national security information. I know the Bloc Québécois does not like that, but that is exactly how a responsible government works. However, we have accepted the

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, our government has taken the threat of foreign interference seriously from the moment we formed the government. The former Conservative government was in power in 2013 when intelligence agencies detected the growing threat of foreign interference. The Conservatives,

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, perhaps my colleague opposite should consult his former boss, Mr. Harper, the former Conservative prime minister of Canada, who asked this individual, Mr. Johnston, to serve not only as the Governor General of Canada, but also as an adviser to the former Conservative

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, again, I invite my colleague from La Prairie to talk to his leader and convince him to take advantage of the government's serious offer to share highly sensitive intelligence, so that the leader of the Bloc Québécois and his colleague who sits on the committee of par