Madam Speaker, I am sorry the member feels as though his question has gone unanswered, but sitting through the same question period as he has on a number of occasions, I have heard some fairly direct answers, which I will attempt to provide to the member once again. Perhaps he will take them from me.

The reality is that at a time when democracy is challenged worldwide, Canada's electoral system is healthy and robust, and Canada continues to rank among the healthiest democracies. However, there is no question that with the rise of authoritarianism, what we are seeing in other countries around the world today, with an increase in both the public's and the media's focus on foreign interference, protecting Canada's national and economic security requires strong action. That is exactly what the government has done since 2015.

As the Prime Minister has said very clearly and the Minister of Public Safety has repeated, our government has put in place an independent process of experts, chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council, something that the previous Conservative government had not thought important enough to do. That group of experts, chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council, which includes the heads of Canada's security and intelligence agencies, was given the important responsibility of ensuring that Canadian elections were free and democratic. The good news, which I hope would excite the member opposite, is that experts have confirmed both elections were exactly that: free and democratic.

It is important to remember that witnesses we heard in the PROC committee, on which the member who asked the question and I sit, including the Chief Electoral Officer and CSIS officials, commented on the fact that attempts to influence democratic elections do not equate to causing actual influence, nor is this a new phenomenon in Canada or around the world. The information the Conservatives are asking for is already made available in unredacted form to independent experts, as well as to members of the NSICOP committee, which the previous leader of the opposition, I would remind the member, removed his Conservative caucus members from in 2020.

This is in addition to the current study being undertaken by the PROC committee. Again, the member and I both sit on that committee and are both fully aware of the opportunity to ask these questions. The work being done by committees like NSICOP, by CSIS and by national security experts strengthens the democratic process and Canada's elections, and the Conservatives are undermining this important work rather than offering a more productive contribution to the discussion of security in elections.

Canadians should be asking what the Conservatives have to gain by instilling fear and division among electors in an effort to convince them that our elections are unfair and influenced by foreign actors.

Mark Gerretsen

$508,543.00