GlobeFeb17_2

    10:45PM Feb 17, 2023

    Speakers:

    Rene Villemure

    Jennifer O'Connell

    Keywords:

    elections

    interference

    speaker

    partisan issue

    foreign

    honourable member

    work

    democracy

    funding

    government

    democratic institutions

    parliamentarians

    candidates

    threat

    foreign powers

    campaign

    issue

    intervention

    quebec

    parliamentary

    services detailed an entire campaign with illegal election funding and media manipulation. It's very concerning. But it would be a mistake to make this a partisan issue and question the elections legitimacy. The real problem is the facility with which foreign powers manipulated could manipulate our elections, we need to take action with transparency. But instead for months, the government has been denying everything and hiding the truth. Will this government finally take the threat seriously? The Honourable parliamentary secretary,

    I welcome the blocks intervention today and the willingness to work with us on this side of the house. Mr. Speaker, the pervasiveness of foreign interference is serious. It's why we've taken action, but there is more work to be done. It should not be a partisan issue, every single Canadian should want everyone in this house to take this issue seriously. And Mr. Speaker, some of the loopholes we've closed where things like foreign campaign funding tighter rules on third party advertising. These are some of the loopholes used around the world. We're going to continue with to work with all parliamentarians to address this, the dividend introduce

    the honourable member. Mr. Speaker China's election, interference is a threat to democracy. And neither partisanship nor denial will help us to beat it. We must all ensure that our elections are safe from foreign manipulation. But this government is hiding the truth from the public. Not only was it aware, but it discussed the issue with allied countries. It knows that candidates received illegal funding. And it knows which candidates had even reimbursed those sums. When will it understand that we cannot be Chinese interference by being just as opaque as China, but it is a fair

    amount. Mr. Speaker, of course, we know that foreign interference exists. This is what we've been talking about since we've been in office. It's precisely why we have put forward several measures to strengthen our democracy, our democratic institutions, and ensuring that our elections are free and fair, Mr. Speaker, this is foreign interference happens to countries around the world. We work with our partners and our allies on how we can counter it. And I encourage all members of this house to bring forward solutions instead of behaving recklessly, like the conservatives who use national security as a partisan issue.

    The Honourable Member for better shots is Ishmael Levy. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Quebec is concerned about C 11. And it sent the government a letter and there was all