44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2022 11:00AM
- Feb/14/22 2:39:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nature abhors a vacuum.
In the absence of federal government leadership, private citizens stepped up to block potentially dangerous occupiers because they feel their government has abandoned them. Ordinary people, brave as they may be, put themselves in harm's way because of this government. After three weekends of chaos, ordinary people felt they could count on nobody but themselves.
Protecting the people is the cornerstone of the contract between citizens and the government.
Does the government understand the consequences of its lack of leadership?
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- Feb/14/22 2:40:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a vacuum.
We are where we are because the federal government has been three steps behind since the beginning of the crisis. It took the federal government 10 days to convene a trilateral table with all levels of government, and it forgot to invite police departments. It was only on Saturday, 16 days in, that they ended up creating their own integrated command centre.
Today, day 18, the government is talking about invoking the Emergencies Act but has no concrete plan to share. When will the government take over crisis management for real?
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- Feb/14/22 2:41:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for 18 days, the Prime Minister allowed the crisis to escalate. Today, he is announcing that he plans to invoke the Emergencies Act.
After 18 days, we have waited long enough on the federal government. The government must tell us today how it plans to use these emergency measures. It must set out a plan and tell us exactly when it will be implemented.
People are at the end of their rope. Law enforcement is at the end of their rope. What is the plan?
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Mr. Speaker, I thought we were talking about rapid testing. My colleague may have slightly deviated from the main topic, so I will allow myself to do so as well.
My Conservative colleague just spoke about the member for Louis-Hébert, who joined the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois in calling on the government to present a clear plan, as the provinces have done, so that we can get an idea of what is coming.
The member for Louis-Hébert also asked his government to start negotiating health transfer payments with Quebec and the provinces, which is something that we would have liked to have seen in Bill C‑10. Sure, quickly giving the provinces more money so they can deliver rapid tests is a good thing, but we should also start negotiations around supporting our health care systems.
I would like to know my colleague's opinion on this. Is it not high time that the Prime Minister started to listen to his caucus members a little more closely?
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.
I disagree with her. I think that the federal machinery of government is very slow. Often, the government is very slow in applying certain measures.
With Bill C‑10, the government is realizing that it can move quickly with the rapid tests and we are pleased, but there are other pressing issues, namely, the health transfers. I think it is high time the government started negotiating with the provinces to transfer the money.
Does my colleague agree with me on that?
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and for his work on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. It is a pleasure to work with him.
I will ask him the same question I asked his colleague just a few minutes ago. We are more or less in favour of this bill. It is rather simple and short. Quebec and the provinces are in need of rapid tests, but they also have other health care needs. The health care system has been weakened by the pandemic. Our health care system took a direct hit from the first wave. The system is in serious need of funding, and the federal government has responsibilities there.
Can my colleague tell me when his government will start negotiating with the provinces and Quebec regarding health transfers?
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Madam Speaker, I somewhat agree with what I am hearing today. Yes, we must act quickly, but the government should have been more forward-thinking when it announced certain budgetary measures. I think the technology of rapid tests was already known, and we should have known that we would need more of them quickly.
Does my colleague agree that the government should have acted more quickly, but without imposing closure, as it is so apt to do to skip over the normal legislative stages of a debate?
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