44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 10, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/10/22 5:01:29 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the primary responsibility of the Prime Minister is to unify this country, to bring it together for people from all parts and all corners: the French, the English, the indigenous, the non-indigenous, those from the east, those from the west, etc. The purpose of the Prime Minister, first and foremost, is to bring us together around a unified vision. This is what ensures our prosperity as a nation.
It is dumbfounding, then, that our Prime Minister would look to do the exact opposite. Why would he look to stoke the flames of division, fear and worry? Why would he look to pit friends against one another, neighbours against one another, family members against one another? Why would he look to even wedge his own caucus members against one another? We know this is true because there have been a few brave members from across the aisle who have come forward and have exposed the Prime Minister's strategy, which is to divide Canadians and to create wedge issues.
At the point of that are vaccines. Rather than using them as a tool, which is what they are meant to be, he has used them as a weapon. That is incredibly sad. The Prime Minister has used vaccines to pit one group against another, so instead of acting as Prime Minister, instead of being a statesman, he has been a gamesman. Instead of showing statesmanship, he is simply showing gamesmanship. It is divisive, it is exploitive, it is cold, it is cruel, it is calculated and it is wrong.
Canadians have sacrificed so much. Over and over again, they have been asked to reorient their lives, to adjust and to follow the ever-changing rules and regulations, and, to their credit, they have. Now they are watching as other countries around the world, such as the U.K., the Czech Republic, Israel, Switzerland, Ireland and Denmark are opening up. They are watching as Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as the United States, are opening up. They are saying, “Wait a minute. We followed the rules and we did what we were told to do. Why is the Prime Minister not making good on his promise? Where is the plan? Why is Canada not able to open up?”
We do not have to look any farther than outside those doors to see the impact that the Prime Minister is having with his abdication of leadership on this issue. This country is in chaos. Canadians are pleading for help. They have done their part and now they are asking that the Prime Minister do his. Is it any wonder, then, that these individuals do not trust the government, that they have big questions about whether follow-through will actually take place?
Out of one side of his face, the Prime Minister says one thing and then out of the other side he says another. Sometimes he contradicts himself within the same sentence. Canadians have lost trust, and with that lost trust, hope is also waning, but that is not their fault, as the Prime Minister would like to point out. No, that is the Prime Minister's responsibility. He is the one who broke their trust.
People are desperate. They are desperate for hope, desperate for leadership, desperate for a future. Their ask is not out of this world. They are just asking the Prime Minister to do what he promised he would.
Canadians are absolutely incredible. I love this country and I love representing the people of it. As Canadians, we persevere because that is who we are. We are incredibly adaptive. We are innovative. We are creative. We find solutions. We solve problems. We are tenacious. We are resilient. We are courageous. However, hope and confidence are waning because of the trauma, the pain—two years' worth—the isolation, the lockdowns and the ever-changing goal posts.
I have received thousands of emails and phone calls. I will share a few.
James contacted me. He is a university student and he wrote to me to say this:
Following this summer, much of learning has been disrupted, from cancelled classes, in-person social experiences and now completely remote learning. This has taken a serious toll on the way I view education. I used to look forward to going and participating in class and now I dread spending hours of time a day watching pre-recorded videos alone. I plead that you will consider the harmful effects that these mandates can have on all the people of Alberta and Canada.
There is a plea being made by the people of this country. Domestic violence is up. Opioid use is through the roof. Cancer is being undiagnosed because people cannot get in to see their doctor in time.
Maria wrote to me. She works with adolescents in mental health, and she wanted to make sure I understood that she has seen a drastic increase in young people with mental health issues. She said, “It is extreme.”
I had a desperate call from a mother just a little while ago. Her child is suffering from an eating disorder, and for a year and a half they waited to see an expert. They waited for help while their daughter wasted away.
There have been cancelled surgeries and treatments, and there has been isolation that has taken a significant toll on our elderly. I talked to a nurse who shared with me that the number of euthanasia requests has gone up, and the number one reason she is noticing is isolation and loneliness. No one should be put in a place where they are choosing to end their life because their government is dictating to them that they cannot see anyone, that they cannot be in contact with other human beings.
There are countless emails I have received with regard to loss of livelihood from postal workers and truckers. A health practitioner wrote to me and said this crisis has been exacerbated by “imposing lockdowns, separating families and support systems, enforcing vaccine passports, segregating people and making it socially acceptable to regard vaccine-free citizens as selfish, uneducated, irresponsible murderers. These are just a few of the things I have been called in the workplace. Recent comments by our Prime Minister simply fuel the hatred and the intolerance toward individuals like me.
The Liberals will try to slough this off by saying that the majority of what we are talking about today is the responsibility of the provinces, but make no mistake: The federal government has a significant role to play.
Language is powerful. When the Prime Minister decides to demonize a certain section of this society and a certain portion of our population, that is wrong, and he incites violence.
Travel by plane, train or public transportation requires vaccination. Many public sector employees are working from home, yet they lost their jobs because they did not choose to be vaccinated. Truckers and other essential service workers stay in their trucks. Please tell me the science behind that decision. How are they spreading the virus? The Prime Minister likes to use science, but only when it serves his desire to hold power. If it requires him to grant people their freedom, then he wants to ignore it altogether. That is wrong.
Dr. Tam has said that all public health policies need to be re- examined. She said that we need to recognize that this virus is not going to disappear and that we need to address the ongoing presence of the virus in a more sustainable way. The World Health Organization has advised that vaccine passports should not be required to enter or exit a country.
Why is the Prime Minister ignoring the science? It is time for leadership. It is time for action. It is time to put together a plan. It is time to be compassionate toward the Canadian people.
Even today, during QP, the member for Eglinton—Lawrence said, “It is important more than ever to ensure that the Canadian public is informed about the ways in which we are going to get out of this pandemic”. I sure hope his colleagues across the aisle agree with him on that. It is time for a plan. It is time to restore hope. It is time to move forward into the future. It is time for the Prime Minister to make good on his promise.
Canadians are waiting.
1416 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/10/22 5:12:09 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, this is classic Liberal strategy. Liberals want to divide. That is their strategy. If they can pit one group against another, if they can create something that does not actually exist, they will do it. They should not try to distract. The issue is federal. The Prime Minister has a responsibility for the language that he uses, and he has been inciting hate and violence across this country for quite some time now.
The issue is travel restrictions. That is a federal issue. The issue is federally regulated employees. That is a federal issue.
96 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/10/22 5:12:12 p.m.
- Watch
You got that. You're a smart one. I was not sure given the question, so I thought I would clarify.
21 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/10/22 5:14:19 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, there was a lot in that question. I will do my best.
This pandemic has certainly highlighted that the health care system is fragile. A lot has been left up to the provinces in the abdication of federal leadership, and that is very sad. Much more can be done and should be done.
When we were in the middle of the election campaign, which was an unnecessary election put forward by the Prime Minister only to divide Canadians further, Conservatives made a commitment to contribute $60 billion to the health care system in order to advance it, grow it and make it better. That was our commitment. I have not seen the government make a similar commitment. I have not seen it follow through on helping the provinces meet the demand on their fragile health care systems right now, and they are in desperate need of attention.
149 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/10/22 5:16:55 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the motion before the House has to do with the federal level. It has to with lifting the mandates that are currently on travel, that are currently on federal employees and that are on truckers and other essential service workers being able to cross the border. I am also talking about the vile language that is coming out of the Prime Minister's mouth ad nauseam, and it needs to stop. That is what we are talking about today.
81 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
