OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre had his microphone abruptly cut off by Speaker of the House Anthony Rota on Tuesday after he demanded an emergency debate be held to investigate why one of his MPs was being targeted by agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Rota, who has been a Liberal MP for decades, rejected an emergency debate be held, saying, “I do not want to enter into an argument here.”
Poilievre wanted the House to discuss why one of his MPs, Michael Chong, was kept in the dark from both the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Trudeau government about the fact he and his family were the targets of spying and intimidation tactics by agents of the CCP, as per a top-secret report.
Conservative MP and former party leader Andrew Scheer said that the issue was “pressing.”
“Beijing has sought and continues to seek to influence and intimidate Canadian citizens,” he added.
Scheer went on to note that “Beijing’s intimidation tactics are not limited to Members of Parliament but are being deployed against many Canadians of Chinese descent in communities across the country.”
“These allegations are widely reported and well established through House of Commons committee testimony.”
Despite the calls from Conservative MPs, Rota refused to budge and gave no reason as to why he would not allow an emergency debate. His decision was met with loud jeers from the opposition Conservatives.
At this point, Rota asked Poilievre if he had anything to say to the “Chair?” The conversation then went as follows:
- Poilievre: “Actually he does have something to say – ”
- Some Hon. Members: “Oh, oh!”
- Poilievre: “You asked me if I had something to say. I do – ”
- Some Hon Members: “Oh, oh!”
- Poilievre: “I think it is outrageous. We stand in this Parliament to represent our constituents, and we need the ability – ”
- Some Hon. Members: “Oh, oh!”
- Rota: “If he continues, he will be ejected from the House.”
- Poilievre: “You asked me.”
- Speaker Rota: “I am cutting you off.”
It was at this point Poilievre’s mic was cut. However, he continued, saying, “I find your ruling baffling.”
“We have a Member of Parliament who was threatened,” adding that he would not let the speaker “shut us down.”
On Thursday, MPs debated a Conservative motion regarding “Interference by the People’s Republic of China.” The vote on this motion has been postponed to next Monday.
On Wednesday, after calls from Chong and the Conservative Party to come clean about what he knew, Justin Trudeau shifted the blame for Chong being in the dark by saying CSIS is responsible for notifying MPs when they are spied on. He also claimed he did not know about the spying incident.
He then said that CSIS did not send the top-secret report regarding Chong up the chain of command because the agency felt it “wasn’t a significant enough concern” and did not meet a “threshold that required them to pass it up.”
Chong on Thursday, however, revealed to the House that he was recently informed by the national security adviser that Trudeau’s own Privy Council office knew about threats to Conservative MP Chong’s family, despite the PM claiming he did not know anything about it.
On Tuesday, CSIS officials finally told Chong that he and his family were the targets of the spying and intimidation tactics by the CCP because he supported a motion in 2021 that condemned CCP actions in Xinjiang province targeting the Uighurs.
This motion saw Trudeau and his cabinet abstain from voting, which had the House of Commons voting in a unanimous declaration that the CCP has been committing acts of genocide against the Uighurs in Xinjiang province.
Earlier this week, LifeSiteNews reported on a highly confidential document from Canada’s top intelligence agency that warned the CCP thinks of Canada as a “high-priority target.” The same report also said the CCP is the “foremost perpetrator” of foreign interference in the nation, and then noted how the regime has targeted Chong’s family.
The bombshell revelations come via a top-secret, nine-page report from the Intelligence Assessment Branch of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), as reported by the Globe and Mail on Monday. The newspaper was privy to the documents via an anonymous source that were produced just before the start of the 2021 federal election.
The top-secret report, dated July 20, 2021, shows that an officer from the CCP’s own intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), was looking for information on Chong’s relatives, “who may be located in the PRC, for further potential sanctions.”
According to the report, this action against Chong “is almost certainly meant to make an example of this MP and deter others from taking anti-PRC positions.”
Opposition parties, notably the CPC, have for some time now demanded that Trudeau launch a full, independent public inquiry over the China election meddling scandal.
Instead of a full public inquiry, as MPs from all opposition parties had requested, Trudeau appointed an “independent special rapporteur,” former Governor General David Johnston, to look into the allegations.
Of note is that Johnston was a member of the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation but was removed from the group’s website after a scandal broke detailing how the non-profit group received a $200,000 donation that was alleged to be connected to the CCP.
Earlier this month, the entire board of directors, including the president and CEO, of the Trudeau Foundation resigned after the report surfaced.