Tonight A horrifying crime scene in Ottawa a family of newcomers murdered inside their home this was a senseless act of violence perpetrated on Purely innocent people a mother and her four young children among the dead what we know of the suspect now charged with six counts of first-degree.
Murder at issue is Saskatchewan taking a stand on the carbon tax or breaking the law it's irresponsible and it's frankly immoral if the decision is immoral in saskat that means it's immoral in lot of Cam and the people who teach the rules of the road caught breaking the rules hi I have an appointment here what Marketplace hidden cameras uncovered.
That has a province promising action from CBC News this is the national with Chief correspondent Adrien arson know thanks for joining us tragic details are emerging tonight about the mass killing that has shaken an Ottawa suburb a townhouse transformed into a crime scene after five family members and another Resident were found dead we.
Now know the youngest victim was just two months old and her father was the sole survivor of the attack as he recovers in hospital a suspect is behind bars and police are on the hunt for answers so they have not said what may have motivated the attack only that it was senseless Nicole Williams takes us through what we know tonight about how.
It all unfolded a normally quiet Suburban neighborhood in Ottawa south end now dealing with a nightmare like a family moving from Sri Lan to here with like such a young family with young kids they probably had a lot of hopes and dreams so it's very sad they lived here in the townhouse where late Wednesday night.
Police found six six people dead including 35-year-old D Delona akaki and her four young children 7-year-old Ena 4-year-old Ashwini 2-year-old renana and two-month-old Kelly the other victim 40-year-old gin amaron who is living with the family this one will undoubtedly weigh on the hearts of everyone for a long time the only.
Survivor was danushka wamas sing the children's father neighbors saw him screaming in the driver way asking for help he was rushed to hospital with serious injuries a monk at the family's Buddhist Monastery has been to visit him I cannot say he's doing well but he's a little bit stronger than we thought and uh he's with some injuries and um got uh.
Yeah mentally he's in great shock police have arrested febrio DOA who also lived in the home he has now appeared in court charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder they allege he attacked the victims with an edged weapon police say he's an international student new to Canada also from Sri Lanka B Sunita says the family.
Recently celebrated his 19th birthday he asked the the family that he like to eat uh even cheesecake they even provide that they bought and they they they they provide provided everything for make him happy as the investigation continues the community now coming to grips with the horror of what happened like I'm obviously in.
Shock and I can't I can't explain it it's tough did you know them no I didn't but I mean I'm seeing it seeing the guys in their white suits and everything it's more real now so Nicole you're at the local Park where people gathered uh together tonight for that vigil what are you hearing from people there yes well.
Dozens of people have been streaming into this park over the course of the evening and the few people that we have spoken to say just how devastated they are but many people have been coming here to Lay Down Candles flowers notes teddy bears all in honors of the victim and many of them standing silently to reflect on really what happened here.
Today City officials are saying to check in on each other and their loved ones as police really just try to make sense of exactly why this happened indeed all right nle Williams in Ottawa thank you Ottawa mayor Mark sliff joins us now I'm really sorry we're having this conversation Mr Mayor and as mayor you know you have to be rattled uh we.
Understand First Responders are certainly shaken so how are you and what are you hearing tonight about how people are doing thank you Adrien it's been a very very tough day and I think for everyone in the community they're just shaken by the events especially the fact that not only have six people been killed but four of those are children.
And they're young children and speaking to you not just as mayor but as a father I'm thinking about the the man who is in hospital tonight and has lost his whole family and I I cannot even begin to imagine what he's going through but I've spoken with a lot of other parents and members of the community today who are who are sympathizing greatly with that.
With that individual and and who are hoping and praying for him and uh are just devastated by this news that has really shaken our community so you now have this this community that's really hurting and as you said a husband and father who's lost everything what do you do now as a city what do you do next we have to pull together as a community.
Ottawa is a very safe City and and we're fortunate to live in a community that is largely free from this kind of violence and and this is an isolated incident the police are saying there is no continuing security threat or threat to Public Safety so we we have to pull together as a community and support each other a lot of people will have been affected by.
This including neighbors and and people close to the family and and children in schools uh where where some of the young members of this family went to school we must pull together and support each other tomorrow I'm hosting a breakfast for international women's day and we're going to observe a moment of silence and I'm encouraging other Ottawa residents.
And workplaces and and Community organizations to find their own way to show their support for this family and for the Sri Lankan community in Ottawa and to demonstrate their solidarity by observing a moment of silence or or demonstrating their support in some other way all right mayor Suli thank you for joining us this.
Evening thank you we can also tell you more tonight about the Ontario family who died in a plane crash in Nashville on Monday the pilot was Victor dosenko he was on board with his wife Rema and their three kids David Adam and Emma the children were between seven and 12 years old a manager at the family's Flying Club tells CBC News Victor was an.
Amateur pilot who flew as a hobby the cause of the crash is still under investigation it's a critical night in Washington tonight US President Joe Biden gave a fiery State of the Union Address and delivered his message for the future of the nation the very idea of America is that were're all created equal and deserves to be treated equally.
Throughout our lives we've never fully lived up to that idea but we've never walked away from it either and I won't walk away from it now so this was Biden's thirdd and final State of the Union before the next presidential election the address is viewed widely as a pivotal moment for the current president president to reassure voters.
He is able to lead the country for four more years Katie Simpson is inside the US capital building for us tonight so Katie Biden pulled no punches when it came to his political rival President Joe Biden used his State of the Union Address to deliver a scathing attack on his political opponent Donald Trump he didn't mention Trump by name just.
Repeatedly referring to him at his as his PR predecessor but truly offered American voters a preview of what the next eight months is going to look like on the federal election campaign Trail uh Biden was fired up going after Trump for his positions on Russia some of the comments he's made about Vladimir Putin going after him for his positions on.
Reproductive Rights with Row versus Wade being overturned under uh because of the the appointment of conservative Justice by Donald Trump and going after Trump for what happened on January 6 January 6 lies about the 2020 election and the plots to steal the election posed a great gravest threat to US democracy since a civil war but they.
Failed America stood here's the simple truth you can't love your country only when you win and Katie for many people it's not just what Biden had say tonight but but really how he delivered his speech he was fired up he was shouting he was angry and anger sometimes has a way of looking energetic and he really leaned.
Into that Republicans coming out of the speech telling us that uh it was far too political that this was more of a campaign speech than a State of the Union Address and they're frustrated with that they're furious with that but of course this is to be expected this is what happens in a US election campaign Joe Biden is facing a lot of criticism.
And concern from voters they're worried he is simply too old to do this job is not mentally fit to continue in this stressful highly important job to say the least tonight he is trying to deliver message to voters that that's not the case trying to look energetic and ready to fight all right Katie Simpson in Washington for us.
Tonight now Joe Biden also touched on the Israel Hamas war and announced the building of a temporary port to funnel a into Gaza The Proposal is for military engineers to build a pier on the Gaza Coast Aid will be inspected by Israel at a staging area in Cyprus but the plan could take weeks to execute Margaret Evans is back in the region in Jerusalem.
For us tonight so Margaret this Gaza Port announcement is already getting some reaction tonight Adrian we know that uh Israeli officials were actually in Cyprus back in December talking about some kind of Maritime humanitarian Corridor we're hearing that the European Union has been involved in the planning but there are so many questions how long.
Is it going going to take how would it be distributed once it actually reaches the shores of Gaza and critics say if Washington really wants Aid to get in in a hurry then it should be pressing uh the Israeli government much harder than it has been and really whatever impact this Aid Route ends up having obviously the need is Crystal Clear that's right.
And it's really not just about uh the huge number of gazin being killed in the conflict it's also about the impact of the war on a Health Care System absolutely on its knees the struggle to survive turns on many levels in Gaza here in a dear albala Health Clinic dialysis machines separate toxins from the systems of.
Patients whose kidneys no longer can but the treatments are cut short due to lack of water and they can't stop the war outside Bleeding Through the lives of so many gazin this woman tells a freelance videographer working for CBC news that she lost four children when her house.
Was bombed outside desperation on the ground is driving Desperate Measures from the sky air drops from Jordan Egypt the United States Britain's foreign minister says he knows it's not enough if we want to avoid famine if we want to avoid disease if we want to help people in Gaza we need 500 trucks a.
Day Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says to agree to a ceasefire would be to allow the Hamas militants who killed some 1200 Israelis on October 7th to win and to abandon the hostages they still hold a recent report commissioned by the British foreign office warns that gaza's Health Care system is so ravaged that.
Even with an immediate ceasefire thousands of excess deaths would continue in Gaza for months and if the trajectory stays the same in terms of how much food people are getting then our models project that the uh rates of acute Mal nutrition in children particularly would with Skyrocket and and become really catastrophic.
Franchesco Ki is one of the reports coauthors even acute malnutrition in the short term is is really difficult to reverse it's a bit like a a super tanker that you're trying to slow down right the study looked not just at acute trauma but at disease and underlying health issues no longer treatable because of the.
War had Al Shafi was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019 and was treated at the one Specialist Hospital in Gaza no longer there may God support my kids she says I want to see them succeed see my daughters get married Adrian people in Gaza say that the longer this goes on the harder it is.
For them to hang on to any kind of a hope that offers them a future that they can imagine all right Margaret Evans in Jerusalem for us tonight back at home the RCMP is apologizing for not properly investigating a sexual assault allegation more than 20 years ago the woman who received that apology is now.
Speak leing out to CBC News as Katherine tunny explains thousands of other cases are being reexamined too so this is a photo taken a few months before I was assaulted Jennifer joner doesn't have many photos of herself smiling as a teenager when she was 14 she was assaulted he made sexual advances which I did not want he punched me in the.
Mouth um causing severe Dental damage the jonner says the m who responded back in 2001 was impatient left her in the alone and never investigated eventually Jon her's smile returned but emotionally she's still wounded having the person that you think will help you dismiss me was something that I carried to this day as an adult.
She decided to push back by filing an official Complaint recently she received this letter on behalf of the RC P I wish to convey to you my regret over this oversight more than 20 years later an apology for failing to properly investigate have I been healed by anything that the RCMP has done or said no but advocating for myself and getting.
Recognition that I am a victim was vital joner is not alone since 2017 the rsmp has reviewed tens of thousands of old cases and uncovered what it call consistent deficiencies of those filed 200 have been reopened leading to 26 new charges work is now underway to review cases involving minors is why Advocates want to see more transparency from.
Police to this day because we know about four out of five reports to police of sexual assault don't proceed to charges um and that's hugely concerning jer's message to the RCMP is I want them to learn that the choices that they make in the field have lasting results she also has one for victims keep fighting even decades later.
Katherine tunny CBC News Ottawa now to a Marketplace investigation exposing how driving instructors and schools in Ontario are breaking the rules putting money ahead of safety Asha Tomlinson with what our hidden cameras found and why the province is now promising to crack down how are the nerves Ashley I've only ever.
Driven with my parents okay this is Ashley Griffith's first driving lesson so remember always keep your hands on the wheel right at all times right so Griffith is taking a beginner driver education course in Ontario also known as bde she has to complete a total of 40 hours of incar and in-class lessons to get her certificate that can get her a.
Discount on car insurance she can also take her driving exam sooner but in our investigation we found out of the 20 driving instructors we contacted 14 were willing to help Forge documents and sell bde certificates for cheap with no lessons completed one told us we can get it right away okay so if I E transfer you how much $150.
155 and I can get it by today yes you're going to get it today in the evening maybe tonight hi I have an appointment here and when we visited one driving school under cover they explained in detail how this scheme works the short version is that you sign as if you've already completed everything and get certificate right now.
You have done this before right for about 15 years now this wow quite we revealed our findings to Ontario's minister of Transportation prit sarara he's now promising to increase sanctions when you say sanctions what do you mean by that well we always looking at at penalties uh we want to make sure that bad actors are.
Punished for any type of uh behavior that is not in line with rules and regulations uh and so we will have to zero tolerance for any event the tolerance may be zero but the timeline is less clear the minister did not say what those penalties could look like or when these changes will come Asha Tomlinson CBC News Toronto so you can.
Watch the entire Marketplace investigation Friday that's at 8:00 p.m. 8:30 in Newland on CBC Gem and CBC television Nova Scotia wineries say a new plan by The Province could hurt their business the bottom line is the industry will shrink and it could shrink down to nothing why the premier is facing tough.
Questions and a door is closing to ukrainians fleeing the war it's not a you know slight change it's a very big change why there's such a rush to get to Canada and Tim Horton's employees go the extra mile for one man's doubled up I had the feeling they might have done this before we're back in.
Two well there's some controversy tonight in Nova Scotia where some of the provinces Vineyards are accusing the premier of favoring their larger competitors kale Hansel now with why an infusion of cash has uncork to heated debate Nova Scotia is proud of the wine industry it's spent decades growing now many of those who grow The Grapes say.
The provincial government is about to destroy it the bottom line is the industry will shrink and it could shrink down to nothing The Province plans to give the big commercial wine producers who bottle wine in Nova Scotia funding believed to be worth millions but their grapes don't have to be locally grown small small farm wineries say it will.
Allow those bigger companies to buy cheaper grapes abroad produce more and charge less and they won't be able to keep up it causes job loss it causes Vines not being grown in the ground the premier is sparring with reporters I'm going to stop you though if I can stop you because you're but there's some history here six years ago.
Australia complained to the World Trade Organization that Canada and some of its provinces were breaking international trade trade agreements Nova Scotia Australia said was offering local companies breaks that discriminated against imported wines Nova Scotia agreed to stop by 2024 but Wineries and the opposition say bottling wine doesn't.
Have anything to do with that trade issue we do know that one of the owners of these companies is a fundraiser for the premier uh and a and a very close friend and Associate reporters asked the premier about that relationship this particular gentleman is friend I I know him I know I know are you a friend another wine bottling facility in Nova.
Scotia is owned by the Ontario based pellar Estates what happened was when the Australian WTO um complaint was made they came back to us and said how do you think we should resolve this and we said we think you should support the local industry here's how you can do it the farm wineries say the government did not ask them that question but they hope it.
Still will Kayla Hansel CBC News Halifax a Lifeline for many ukrainians is coming to an end there is all always a chance that after 5 years or 6 years in Canada you might have to go home the scramble to get here and stay here next but first Rosie's here with that issue hello you hey Adrien tonight we're going to talk about Saskatchewan and.
Ottawa's ongoing battle over the carbon tax if if if Premier Scott Mo decides that he wants to start breaking laws and not respecting federal laws then measures will have to be taken how far is Ottawa willing to go to make sure Saskatchewan actually pays up Andrew Elia and Kelly Kerman join me to talk about that and.
more well this isn't just a rare site it is a first at least in recorded history never before has a bald eagle nest been documented in Toronto a resident spot of the pair of eagles in December it's incredible it there's no there's no words to describe it I mean it's just absolutely mind-blowing Eagles were.
Considered endangered in Ontario for a very long time experts blame hunting and an insecticide which caused their eggs to crack easily so this is being celebrated as a big win a crucial deadline is fast approaching for ukrainians who fled to Canada to escape the dangers of the war as Georgie SM shows us if they want to extend their.
Visas time is running out thank you a new life in Canada begins with paperwork good day the emergency Visa program that brought more than 200,000 ukrainians to Canada is ending this month anyone approved needs to be in the country before March 31st and ukrainians are arriving in their thousands I come here because a program is is finished.
And uh I think it's important to do it because it's a really good change work very hard to support groups like this church are noticing an uptic because come April 1st it'll become harder for ukrainians to travel here it puts us in line with any other individual from many other countries in the world um so it is a very different um it's not a you know.
Slight change it's a very big change Andre bitki and his wife Katarina bondeno arrived in Canada 4 months after Russia invaded their country we just boiled everything to have a good life in in har you know in one moment everything is destroyed I don't they're still adjusting to the pleasures and pressures of life here take a look my credit.
History you will understand how it's tight yeah it's really tight make artist working several jobs while trying to extend their visa for another 3 years I will try to apply for PR card cuz uh you know when you have a perament resident status in Canada it look like you are human some ukrainians have an easier path to permanent residency if a member.
Of their family is already a citizen immigration lawyers say for most options to stay longer are limited you just have to be mindful like there is always a chance that after 5 years or 6 years in Canada you might have to go home yeah for this young couple it's a possibility difficult to imagine as War grinds on Georgie SMI CBC News.
Vancouver now it's time to break down the week in politics it's Thursday which means Rosy's here with that issue at issue this week a new Salvo and heated rhetoric over the federal carbon tax Saskatchewan says it won't pay up Ottawa says that's breaking the law it's irresponsible and it's frankly immoral on on his part we can have disagreement.
About things like like climate change but but but to be so reckless is is um is unspeakable really if the decision is immoral in saskat that means it's immoral in the L County and so that that it's disappointing what's to be made of the battle the ongoing battle between Saskatchewan and Ottawa what measures.
Might the federal government take to enforce the tax hello there I'm Rosary Barton here to break it all down tonight Andrew coin althia Raj and sitting in for Sean tal tonight Kelly cryderman good to see all of you um maybe I'll start with you Andrew what what do you make of the way uh Minister G Bo has responded obviously he's not the only.
Minister that's talked about this issue and there does seem to be some question of how Ottawa is actually going to respond but for now uh calling this decision immoral um how do you think that contributes to where we are with this well I I think we want to be careful not to both sides this uh we can all be critical of the way the federal.
Government has handled the carbon price file generally and particularly the car vote for home heating hoil which I think is widely and rightly seen as being a s to their Atlantic Canadian base all that's true and and maybe they're guilty of hypocrisy or what have you but we cannot have governments of all people in this country who are supposed to be.
Framing and enforcing the laws uh stepping outside them uh uh people would like to say oh you know gibo himself in his past used to engage in illegal stunts to make a point as a Greenpeace campaigner but he wasn't in the government of Canada at the time no he wasn't uh so I I do think that that we have to draw a line here that the.
Government of San has agency is not an automaton it can it can make choices it can make choices to um make its protests within the law of the land and to be stepping outside of this and it's far from the only Province that's been doing this of course we've got Alberto with this cockamamy Alberta sovereignty thing which is clearly outside the law you've.
Got Quebec presuming to be able to rewrite drafts of the you know sections of the Constitution unilaterally which is clearly unconstitutional um um this is getting out of hand and uh whether Gio is the right man and the right message to be handling this is another question but I I I can't fault him for at least the.
Emotion behind it but but but the the Saskatchewan government is trying to make what they believe and what many people believe althia is a legitimate point so I mean yes they're going to extremes to do that but they're trying to find a way to get the federal government to respond um because so far they they haven't agreed to any further.
Car outes um what the castran government is doing is blatantly illegal it's not um a perception of it being illegal or not it's not like the debate we're having over whether or not to use a notwithstanding clause preemptively or not it is clearly illegal uh Manitoba's Premier wab canu has said publicly that.
The advice that he received was taking the similar action is also illegal the government of Saskatchewan has gone to the Supreme Court to fight Ottawa on the imposition of the carbon tax and they may dis agree about uh you know the exception on home heating which does actually apply in saskat as well it applies across the country but it lost.
That battle and we do live in a society where the rule of law should be uh upheld and it's really disappointing and I agree with step gibo it is irresponsible I'm not sure I would call it immoral that those are his words I'm not sure I would use that but um it is irresponsible what messes does it send the people of Saskatchewan if you don't.
Like a law you can break it you don't want to pay your income tax you disagree with the government go ahead break the law that's you know the government is siding on the side of Anarchy and it's not lost I think on any of us that there is an election in Saskatchewan in October and that the premier would very much like to stick it to Justin Trudeau.
Uh you know they're kind of battling it out in the polls at the moment um and fighting with the federal government is always a win but they know it's illegal they know they know it's illegal because they have tried to protect the board of Sask energy um from criminal prosecution we don't know what the government is going to do yet but Steven gibbo has.
Said clearly the government has to do something and they cannot allow provinces to break the law well I mean Minister Wilkinson has has said like we don't want to go down the path of handcuffing the minister here like that that you know creating a martyr around carbon tax probably is not what the federal government wants to do either.
Kelly um but it it does seem like things are kind of stuck um in terms of what they how far they are willing to go to make their point to saskatch one it is it is a bit of a stalemate and absolutely what uh Saskatchewan is doing is illegal and I think the indications that we're hearing from um Minister Wilkinson is that they will be hit with.
A fine or some kind of clawback of transfer payments and I think you can uh disagree with the tactics of the skatan government but also um feel that they're also you know bringing up a fair point about the way that the carbon pricing has has evolved since the Supreme Court decision in 2021 since the federal liberals said a floor on carbon pricing.
Would wouldn't be moved and then just suddenly moved for Atlantic Canada I think there is a question of blatant unfairness and I was thinking back to the days 25 years ago when I came back to Alberta and there was uh Farmers fighting the Canadian wheat board and they were getting arrested for crossing the border and selling their wheat or.
Grain now we are talking about a government here we are not talking about a group of deeply unhappy Farmers we are talking about a government and forever any citizen of Saskatchewan will be able to look at the Saskatchewan party and say Hey you fought the law I'm not going to pay my taxes that is the big risk they're taking here but it is going to.
Be hard for Canadians as a for many Canadians to get upset about this given the issue of fairness and I also think given the issue of um the way that uh the the the loss of political support on the carbon pricing issue which is of course a different issue than the law um but it does contribute to how the Liberals are able to maneuver on this.
Yeah well talk to me about that Andrew then because Kelly makes a point like you don't want to make this into a bigger issue than they already have so so how do you respond and and respond to the fact that it is illegal but but you do understand that people are upset well I I think that I mean the point is well taken you don't want to.
Create Martyrs at the same time you also want to emphasize this is not just a usual Argy bargy between the feds and the provinces uh um so withholding transfer payments Etc that that is that is helpful yeah that's one way of affecting it but I think they also has to be some way of making a point that this is stepping outside some pretty.
Fundamental Norms um our neighbors to the South are entering a very perilous period uh where they are going to be there's the real potential for lawlessness uh political lawlessness in that country um we've always prided ourselves in this country as being a bit more law bodying a bit more orderly uh that would not be a high bar to meet at.
This point uh but it's a little distressing to see us going down closer towards that kind of Road uh you know we just had the the discussion Visa the Ottawa uh Convoy that we needed to have an even hand we needed to have commitment to the rule of law on all sides that people quite rightly said why are you getting so mad at us in the.
Convoy when you weren't getting mad at people for blockading Railways and the correct answer to that was well let's not let any of that happen let's have a commitment that we resolve our our disputes peacefully and lawfully in this country and to have a government I'll repeat the point uh stepping outside the law is just disgraceful Al about 30.
Seconds to you I mean to Andrew's Point peace order and good government you may think we don't have a good government but it doesn't give you the right to not uh support order um so I do share Andrew's point about the sort of Americanization of our politics when you look down south at what's happening in Congress you have a number of.
Representatives who don't seem at all interested in abiding by the Norms that you know have long been the we did not get to this level of democracy because it was an easy ride people fought very hard for us to have strong institution to have the rule of law and behavior like this all hits at that last word to you Kelly uh you know I just point out.
I'm more interested I I agree with the points in on Law and the rule of law in the United States but we are seeing seeing even a movement among states in the US that you know maybe might even be following Canada's lead or Western Canada's lead in some respects in terms of distancing themsel from a central government so uh I think I think those.
Ideas flow back and forth uh over the Border okay we're going to take a short break thanks for that good part of the conversation when we come back we'll discuss the Winnipeg lab leaks this is a grave and serious matter that requires a parliamentary committee to examine conservatives say the Liberals are again shutting down attempts to find out more.
About what happened at Canada's top infectious disease lab is more transparency needed that's next at issue allegations of a coverup the conservatives are demanding more answers about what happened at the national microbiology lab and why it took so long to reveal a trove of.
Intelligence documents that detail why two scientists were fired accused of sharing information with China we need to understand why we didn't get these documents 3 years ago we've lost 3 years uh in examining this matter because there was an over classification of these documents and Parliament didn't get the information it should have.
Gotten so is there a need for further investigation into what happened at that lab let's bring everybody back Andrew Alia and Kelly Alia why don't you start us off I here I I mean it it did take a long time in part because there was no agreement on the process to look at these documents uh they have finally now been basically made public but but.
There's still lots of question there's more questions I would say now that we have the documents do do you think that the government has been um fair enough in their approach to sharing this information uh given National Security concerns fair is a hard question the reason it's not like all the opposition parties agree that these governments.
Needed to be seen which is why the speaker ruled to have the documents and then the government decided to sue the speaker to prevent uh the documents from being released and when you realize that pack overly redacted the documents and then the Liberals I mean it it was a good thing we should credit them for following the kind of Afghan model plus.
I think because of the the jurists there that were weighing the National Security concerns as well um you know we had a nice example actually of all parliamentarians working together to bring to light to the documents that we saw last week which are shocking and absolutely I agree with Michael Chong that parliamentarians should absolutely.
Look at what's been um what's been re revealed in the documents I think we take security incredibly um not seriously enough we are much too lacked with security and this is one thing that is is really quite disturbing from the documents but I will say that I don't know it's hard to distinguish the partisan gamesmanship from the actual.
Interest to the public like what we saw this week with the conservatives at the Ethics Committee where they are there because they have a conservative chair so there's an opposition majority you know this debate probably should be happening at the Canada China committee but that has a liberal chair but that is where the impetus for all these.
Documents started for so I do think there are questions of accountability we still don't know who knew what when what they did about it in the government why it took so long for this information to be released and I don't think that we can forget the context at the time which is the Mangan Joo um detention and the two Michael and possible you know hyper.
Sensitivity in the government about what to do with regards to China and any backlash they might face it's curious to me Andrew though that the Liberals are still shutting down attempts at Comm I mean I'm trying not to be naive here but to shut down attempts at committee to discuss this because you would think that after this long they would.
Understand that transparency actually might help them a government to to to answer questions and to put it all on the table you would think well first of all what's in the what's in the documents is utterly scalding this may well be the most serious national security breach in the history of the country uh you had the basically the.
Government of China setting up a cell within our most top security U biotch bio research lab involving some of the most lethal viruses known to man and you know sending out information over to China bringing in people from the including people from the people Liberation Liberation Army to research there the whole thing is absolutely.
Shocking and it's only going to get more shocking I imagine the more we'll delve into it so they still probably have an interest uh in trying to obstruct that but let's be clear the Bedrock Convention of our system of government is that the government is accountable to Parliament it's not accountable to Parliament if it agrees to be or subject.
To certain conditions it is accountable to Parliament when Parliament demands documents one of the other most Bedrock convention is the government has to yield it doesn't get to say wait a minute we think National Security is involved or maybe it's privacy or maybe it's some other matter that's for Parliament to.
Decide and parliamentarians so I'm not particularly enamored of the process that got us here it it was messy and ugly and wrong and unconstitutional thank God we have finally seen it three years too late and probably too late to do much about you know the the people involved uh um but but we certainly need to learn much much.
More about how this happened why took so to bring these people to to find out what the people are doing and certainly we need to confront this weakness in our institutional mechanisms that we can't actually call our governments to account well well and to better protect Canada from from F future attempts right to to to be influenced by other countries I.
Mean Alia mentioned the Afghan detane uh situation that happened under Steven Harper in in that situation in in my mind and in my memory it it was very painful uh for the government until they released the documents it actually helped the government once the documents were out because people had at least a better sense of what they were dealing.
With Kelly yeah I don't I don't understand the reason at this point for um bringing any political attention to the fact that you're trying to stop any process from happening at this point you know I keep sticking on Michael Chong's words about things being over classified and you know perhaps Andrew is absolutely right that there are worse.
Things to to come out but I think at this point if you were talking about cutting through partisan political lines and acting in the name of National Security to me it would be better to uh to be more forthcoming on on on the threat that existed for Canada for the lab for some of our research secrets and I think you know there has to be an.
Acknowledgement uh that the the Liberals have talked about that things have changed politically so quickly since 2018 2019 in terms of the threat assessment but there comes a point where that starts to ring Hollow and you need to start acting in a more grown-up way even getting past some of the really divisive.
Arguments of the pandemic and the discussion about you know people uh in committee uh chastising Michael Chong for even bringing up the Wuhan lab because that was connected to so-called conspiracy theories at the time and I think getting past that thinking into a more grownup thinking on Foreign Affairs is really important at this point and it.
Will it will cut down conservative arguments that the Liberals are holding back on this Andrew you want in there and then quick last word 12 can I just say this line that Mark Holland was putting out that oh 2019 was a simpler time we didn't know what China was up to the two Michaels were languishing in a Chinese Jail at the time in 2019 so.
Let's not kid ourselves people knew yeah people knew that what up to yeah and the kind of things that they would do uh to retaliate alth last word to you I think one of the questions that comes out of this is more of a process e question but you know we are supposed to have a national parliamentarian committee that looks at National.
Security and clearly it isn't working properly the conservatives do not want to actively participate because they feel like they're being gagged uh if they do we should have the ability and I we I mean Parliament should have the ability to compel documents from the government and have its own body internally that redacts things we should.
Have a system that allows parliamentarians to access documents without relying on the bureaucracy that has its own agenda and we can never forget that the bureaucracy also has its own agenda okay smart conversation there thank you all thanks for being here on this Thursday with that I'll send things back to Adrienne and she's in.
Toronto thank you Rosie next a coffee run gets a little bit trickier for Saskatchewan Matt when you really want your double double right the Tim Horton's employees who ran to his rescue in Our Moment oh dear what you're looking at is a man who got his truck stuck in the.
Drive-Thru of a Tim Hortons in saskat so that's definitely not pleasant especially in the morning when all you want is a cup of coffee lucky for him Tim Horton's employees jumped into action the classic Canadian kindness is Our Moment when you really want your double double right I just thought it was so funny and.
So classic Canadian was just getting my coffee in the Tim Horton's lineup and the poor guy in front of me couldn't get any traction it was pretty slippery well the guy did give it a valiant effort to try to get out on his own but uh he was holding up the drive-thru pretty soon the the Tim Horden staff came out big smiles on their face.
I had the feeling they might have done this before of course I'm a journalist so I thought I should record this this guy needs his coffee he really needs his coffee but you can't just record it you have to get out and help okay I'll help so I did help give a push didn't take long the guy was on his.
Way he got his coffee we all had a good laugh thank you I don't know how he takes his coffee but he needed a coffee that's all that matters good old Bonnie Allen a CBC reporter she says I'm a farmer's daughter I was absolutely going to help but she's a multitasker too and so she was able to record she doesn't want to throw him.
Under the bus still wondering what kind of tires he had though from all of us at the national thank you for being with us you can watch anywhere anytime on the free CBC News app And subscribe to the Nationals YouTube channel I'm Adrien Arsenal take care.
