Dear Editor,
Re: “What were they thinking?“ Letters, Dec. 11.
I am writing in response to Joanne Teraguchi’s letter.
First, I thank Ms. Teraguchi for her close attention to the issue of foreign interference.
This is a matter that I and our government take very seriously. Our commitment to defending against interference is evidenced in our work.
MPs on the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) have spent four meetings studying possible election interference.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs will be appearing at the meeting of today’s committee to answer MPs’ questions and update the members on what the federal government is doing to counter efforts to interfere with Canada’s elections.
As a member of the Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI), I supported a motion to study attempts by foreign governments to interfere in our elections to begin in the new year. I look forward to seeing the PROC committee’s report and taking up the study in the ETHI committee.
The event in question was advertised as a way to recognize the charitable efforts of numerous organizations toward flood relief, Richmond Hospital and numerous contributions to our local community.
That is all I attended for.
As our prime minister has stated, we know of reports on Chinese police stations operating in Canada, including one reported to be in Vancouver.
This is something that our public safety officials and agencies are looking into and will continue to focus on closely, and we are all remaining vigilant to keep Canadians safe.
Furthermore, I am personally committed to work with all our public safety agencies to keep Richmond safe.
Parm Bains
MP, STEVESTON-RICHMOND EAST
