(L-R) Conservative Opposition Members of Parliament Earl Dreeshen and Blaine Calkins speak to Red Deerians on Thursday at the 'Breakfast with the MPs' event held by the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Blaine Calkins & Earl Dreeshen

Local Opposition MPs discuss need for federal public inquiry on claims of foreign interference

May 26, 2023 | 11:51 AM

Canadian Members of Parliament Earl Dreeshen and Blaine Calkins spoke to Red Deerians on Thursday about the need for a public inquiry on current allegations of foreign interference.

At a ‘Breakfast with the MPs’ event held by the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce at River Bend Golf & Recreation Area, Calkins, Opposition member for the Red Deer-Lacombe riding and who sits on the Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, said he would be heading later that day to an emergency meeting to discuss the results of special rapporteur David Johnston against a public inquiry.

The Liberal government has been under fire for allegations from news outlets of Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

READ: Opposition MPs to seek testimony from foreign interference watchdog David Johnston

Calkins says too many questions remain and that the worst case scenario would be that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his party were complicit to using representatives from the United Front Work Department, a Chinese group with aims to advance Beijing interests around the world.

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He also claims there are many conflicts of interest between Johnston and Trudeau as they have a history of close friendship and that Johnston recently hired a lawyer who was a donor of the liberal party. With the current spot of ethics commissioner vacant, as the former interim ethics commissioner was the sister-in-law of Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, he says there is no one to properly judge on this conflict. Finally, he says Johnston was given clearance to his position by former Supreme Court justice Franco Iacobucci, who was also a mentor to the Trudeau Foundation.

Calkins says some officials are calling the situation “close to treason” with Canada now being excluded from recent security pacts between allies like the United Kingdom, United States and Australia.

“What saddens me is that our reputation on the international stage has been sullied. To the point that our traditional allies are now bypassing us; they’re not even inviting us anymore to be part of conversations when it comes to global security and protection of our commonly shared values,” he said.

Dreeshen, Opposition member for the Red Deer-Mountain View constituency, echoed a similar sentiment, adding that there needs to be openness and transparency.

Also sitting on the Committee of Natural Resources, Dreeshen spoke about the federal government’s emphasis on green technology and lack of credit given to Alberta as the industry’s leader.

He said while the Ukrainian war could have provided an opportunity for the country to supply the world’s needs in agricultural and oil and gas, the carbon tax has affected Canada’s competitiveness on an international scale as well as pipeline debates.

Dreeshen added that many federal issues are affecting the agricultural industry in the West such as fertilizer reduction plans and increasing conservation areas to 30 per cent by 2030. He believes the government will pick lands used for farming and energy in the Western provinces rather than eastern areas.

As a result, he suggests, many topics of conversation around climate change are dividing the country and have been feared for generations. He used the example of recent wildfires, stating there is a lack of open discussion around their cause, with those questioning climate change labelled as “deniers”. He says wildfires have been an issue in the area for centuries and have natural ecological benefits such as increasing soil fertility.

“What we have to start doing is try to find ways to bring this country back together. That, to me, is the most critical aspect of this,” he said.

Another contentious issue in the country concerns firearms, Calkins said.

He claims the discussion is strictly to advance a federal political agenda. According to the RCMP, he says 2.2 million people in Canada held licensed guns and gang members are responsible for the majority of homicides with firearms rather than law abiding owners.