QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Foreign Interference
May 17, 2023
Government leader, according to a recent report of The Globe and Mail, the activities of the People’s Republic of China agent expelled from Canada last week were known to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS, since he arrived here in 2018.
The Globe and Mail reported that while he was in Canada, this diplomat:
. . . took pictures of dissidents, monitored events held by them, documented their identities and sent the information back to China’s secret police . . . .
According to The Globe and Mail, CSIS began sharing sensitive information about this diplomat with Global Affairs Canada in 2020, leader, including his meetings with staff of Liberal MPs. The Trudeau government knew this diplomat was spying on Canadians and did absolutely nothing to stop it for three years. Not one week, leader, for three years. How is that in the best interests of Canadians?
Thank you for your question. I’m not in a position to comment on what The Globe and Mail is reporting, nor am I in a position to comment on what information or the nature of the information that may have been provided to Global Affairs. What I can say is that with regard to the particular allegations that were made public in The Globe and Mail about the actions in relation to MP Chong, the government was made aware of those through The Globe and Mail and took action appropriately and expeditiously to declare that person persona non grata.
This is what you would call sucking and blowing at the same time, leader. One minute you’re not able to comment on what The Globe and Mail says, and then when you act, you say you acted because of what The Globe and Mail said. Which is it, leader? As you often say, leader — these are your words — to be clear, Canadians can see exactly what is going on here. And they can. The Prime Minister and his government did nothing about Beijing’s interference because they benefited from it. The paltry actions they’ve taken recently are because of leaks to the media. It’s as simple as that.
I’ve repeatedly asked how many other parliamentarians were targeted by Beijing’s interference. Now we have learned over the weekend that former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole and NDP MP Jenny Kwan have been contacted by CSIS. Two national security sources told The Globe and Mail that the Trudeau government has been provided with a list of other diplomats that could be considered for expulsion.
Let me ask you these questions, leader: Have any other parliamentarians been targeted? Are there other agents of the Beijing government that should be expelled for foreign interference? What would it take for your government to remove them now — not years from now?
Thank you for the questions.
First of all, honourable colleagues, the assertion and attribution of motivations to any government, or member of the government, that they didn’t take action because it benefited them is unfounded in fact and is inappropriate, as we have been reminded by the previous Speaker in his rulings.
With regard to your question, again, this is Question Period. You can ask questions about classified information that might be available from security and intelligence forces, but it is not — and will never be — appropriate for the representative of the government, or the government leader, or however you want to style me or my successor, to reveal intelligence information in this place.
