44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 10, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/10/22 2:09:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, I joined in recognizing the Aisokinakio'p's partnership with the Dashmesh Culture Centre to provide vaccines to our northeast Calgary communities. In the spirit of reconciliation, these clinics have been a huge success and have created a unique partnership between the indigenous and the Sikh communities to serve the community at large. At the heart of these communities is a common goal and the values of seva, sharing and taking care of others.
I would like to recognize this extremely successful initiative by the Dashmesh Culture Centre under the leadership of Amanpreet Singh Gill and the entire executive committee, in partnership with the Siksika Nation, Siksika Health Services, Calgary Homeless Foundation, Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary and Okaki Health Intelligence.
I thank all the frontline health workers for all their hard work. We are stronger together. God bless these communities so that they may continue serving and God bless a united, free Canada.
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- Feb/10/22 6:02:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to speak in support of today's Conservative opposition day motion to end the lockdowns and restrictions and to have a clear path forward so Canadians can have faith in our parliamentary system again. The Prime Minister has placed many hardships on Canadians over the last two-plus years, and it is time that Canadians see some hope. It is a time they see a plan on how we can move forward and build trust again in this parliamentary system.
All of us in the House have experienced the outcry of so many Canadians across this country calling for a return to normal. Some are here in Ottawa and some are at the blockades along the border, but so many more are at home, desperate to live their lives and asking for the Prime Minister and his government to end their campaign of fear and division. I hear it all the time from my constituents. My constituents are some of the hardest hit by the Liberal government's failed policies. They want to go back to their lives and livelihoods without being vilified by the Liberal government.
I also want to take this opportunity to echo what our Conservative leader said this morning. My colleagues and I have heard the message that the protesters in Ottawa came here to bring, so we will not stop calling on the government to listen and we will never stop standing up for Canadians. That is our duty here. Now is the time to end the blockades at Coutts and the Ambassador Bridge, for the sake of businesses and the people. They do not deserve to suffer financially any longer. All Canadians deserve to have this economic pain come to an end.
However, while the Liberals continue their fearmongering and divisive politics, we know the cost of living has gone up. People are facing extraordinary house prices and inflation not seen in the last 30 years. Today's motion is an opportunity to extend an olive branch to Canadians. Let us end these mandates, let Canadians get back to a normal life and end the economic turmoil that is hurting everyday people.
As my colleagues and I have been saying all along, we condemn the use of hate symbols and do not tolerate the desecration of our national monuments. What also needs to be made clear is that the people who did those things—
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- Feb/10/22 6:05:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what also needs to be made clear is that the people who did those things do not represent the vast majority of the people who are concerned about these lockdowns and want these mandates to end. Those calling for an end to the mandates are ordinary Canadians. They came from across Canada, with diverse backgrounds and supporting different political parties. They are simply asking for a clear path forward out of this pandemic so they can get on with their lives.
However, if we listen to the Prime Minister's rhetoric, we would think there are hoards of angry people storming Ottawa and trying to overthrow the government. How would he know what is going on when he is hiding at the cottage with his MacBook? More importantly, how would he know the true intention of Canadians when he refuses to listen? He opens his mouth, pits everyone against each other for political gain and ignores the voices of the masses when they ask him to stop.
True leadership unites people, no matter their views. Still, the Prime Minister demonizes anyone who disagrees with his ideology. He would rather call people racist and misogynist than sit at a table with people of different views to help unite this country. My colleagues and I from Alberta know all too well that it is “get on board or get out of the way” with the current Prime Minister. Why can he not stop politicizing the pandemic and start listening to Canadians who have suffered enough?
We have seen first-hand in Alberta how protesters on both sides of this issue have taken it upon themselves to act on the fear and division stoked by the current Liberal government. Last Canada Day, the then Minister of Health for Alberta was harassed by protesters who went after him in front of his kids and wife. This is not what Canada is about. This is not how we want to be seen on the world stage. However, when it was time for the Prime Minister to unite Canadians throughout the pandemic, throughout the fires in B.C. and the fall of Afghanistan, he called a selfish $630-million election to capitalize on the fear and division he had created. What kind of leader thinks that is okay?
We have reached a point in this country where we need to look at the current government's and Prime Minister's actions and not just his empty rhetoric. We need to ask whether we will let them continue to divide us and make us live in fear. We all believe in science and facts, but we also believe in defending our country and what we stand for.
The chief medical officers of health across Canada are calling for an end to restrictions. Dr. Tam, Dr. Henry, Dr. Moore, Dr. Hinshaw and Dr. Shahab say that it is time for Canada to get back to normal. If we as a country of the true north, strong and free, believe in that principle, then it is time to listen to the science, to listen to the evidence, to listen to the people. We must end the lockdowns and restrictions.
Ninety per cent of Canadians are vaccinated. Most provinces are providing rapid tests for the public, and case counts are going down. Countries worldwide, such as Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Israel, the Czech Republic, the U.K., Spain and Denmark, are removing their COVID measures, including the vaccine passport, as are many U.S. states, as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan. Our allies are listening to science and, most importantly, the people. Why is the Prime Minister not?
I also want to mention that we, the Conservatives, are not alone in this House in calling for an end to restrictions. The Liberal members for Louis-Hébert and Marc-Aurèle-Fortin spoke out to say that enough is enough. The member for Louis-Hébert assured us that he is not the only one to have a certain discomfort on different levels with the direction the government has to take. The member for Louis-Hébert is not part of the French minority. He is not racist or a misogynist because he said these things, nor are the protesters or the people who are asking the Prime Minister to stop sowing his fear and division.
I have seen first-hand inside my own house the impact of these lockdowns and these measures. I have a daughter who suffered through such extreme anxiety that we had to pull her out of school because she could not handle all of the things that were happening all at once. It was not her fault. We understand COVID is going on, but she was going through extreme traumatic stress due to these lockdowns.
I can only imagine other households, and what is going on inside their houses. We owe it to parents and we owe it to children. We need to start living our lives and moving forward.
I think about what kind of country I want to see for my daughters. I want them to grow up without fear of having their own ideas. I want them to be proud of who they are and what they believe in. I honestly believe that all of us in the House want that, too, for future generations.
This is our opportunity to turn down the rhetoric, the fear and the division and let Canadians get back to normal life. It is time for the Prime Minister to stop politicizing the pandemic and start listening to Canadians. It is time to hear the people.
Canadians need hope, now more than ever. They need leadership and they need to be united. They need to stop being called names. They need real leadership now. They need a plan forward. They want to see the light that will help take them out of this darkness. Now is the time to stand up and keep our land united, strong and free.
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- Feb/10/22 6:12:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the PMO for that question.
What I heard in question period today was the minister of transportation saying, “I want to remind Canadians that we are still in a pandemic.” To the member asking that question, and to the transport minister, why did that not stop the Prime Minister from calling an unnecessary, selfish election? It was the most expensive election in Canada's history for a shuffle change in the Liberal cabinet.
Maybe the member can go back to the PMO and ask him that question on behalf of all Canadians, because they deserve to know that, while the fourth wave of this pandemic was raging, the Prime Minister was okay to campaign in Brampton and run around—
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- Feb/10/22 6:14:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we need to have a really serious conversation about health care in this country, because in the last six years things have not improved whatsoever. We all, as a group here, from all parties, should be working together. Instead of politicizing this pandemic, we should have been finding ways to improve things in this country.
What we are asking for is just a plan. Give us some metrics. Give us something. The Prime Minister stood up in question period today, and he keeps talking about vaccines. We are already at 90%. Tell us what the threshold is. When does this end? When can Canadians have back the confidence in the House that has been broken by the Liberal government?
Give us some metrics so we can at least give hope to Canadians—
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- Feb/10/22 6:16:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what my colleague is highlighting is what I have been talking about in my speech, about trust. I think Canadians lost a lot of trust because of all the failed policies and back and forth that they kept seeing from the Liberal government. This is the same government that the Prime Minister said last year would not call an election. We passed a motion in the House, and he turned on that—
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