44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 17, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/17/22 4:08:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the hon. member, who speaks so highly of how peaceful it was here in Alberta and how peaceful what was happening in Coutts was, that Albertans lost almost $50 million a day. On February 14, the RCMP arrested 11 people who were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, and that was against our own police. If that is not violence, and if that is not urgent and an emergency, I do not know what is. There were 14 firearms found there, as well as body armour, a machete and huge quantities of ammunition. These are serious issues that are in our country and in our province, and we have lost hugely.
Would the member explain why he, and even members from our province, would stand with these folks who were terrorizing many people across our province, including the ones in Ottawa?
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- Feb/17/22 4:20:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was listening to the member's intervention today, I was reflecting on a joint statement from Canada's unions on the Ottawa occupation from February 9, 2022. It states:
Canada’s unions have fought for generations for the right to protest. This is a cornerstone of our democratic system. But what we have witnessed on the streets of Canada’s capital…is something different altogether.
Instead, they refer to what is happening outside this chamber as “an occupation by an angry mob trying to disguise itself as a peaceful protest.”
This joint statement calls on the federal government to quickly deliver urgently needed supports to workers and businesses affected. Can the member please share how aligning himself with an occupation that has shut down workers and businesses is in the best interests of Canadians?
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- Feb/17/22 4:36:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. It certainly has been a little hard to keep up with the Bloc Québécois's position on this situation these last two weeks.
First they accused the government of doing nothing, of failing to act. They demanded it help the people of Ottawa. Now that Ottawa is preparing to use these tools, such as freezing bank accounts to put the financial squeeze on people participating in illegal occupations, suddenly that is not okay.
They cannot say one thing one week and another the next. Indeed, statistics show the majority of Quebeckers support this measure, clearly indicating solidarity with the people of Ottawa and a desire give them back their city as soon as possible. This has gone on long enough.
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- Feb/17/22 4:38:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question.
If there are people of good faith out there who want to express their opinion, that is fine. However, they have unfortunately been dragged into a movement organized by people who self-identify as being with the far right. It is clear. The connections have been made.
We have received dozens of reports from people in Ottawa who have been insulted and endured racist verbal abuse by people who were in fact displaying neo-Nazi symbols and the Confederate flag.
While most protesters are not carrying this flag, we have seen it, and the evidence is there. This illegal occupation, which is unfortunately supported by the Conservatives, does include a far-right element.
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- Feb/17/22 4:41:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today in support of emergency measures to restore order in a situation that has been steadily getting out of hand. The convoy movement has clearly come to mean many things to many people, but it matters that the stated intention of the organizers has been to disrupt and overthrow Canada's democratic institutions, as outlined in their published memorandum of understanding and their discussions in the media.
A lack of leadership by the federal government and local police in Ottawa have led us to a point of crisis. Coupled with the discovery of weapons caches, allegations by authorities of conspiracy to commit murder, reports of involvement by elite military members and the prolonged harassment of people in their homes and places of work, there can be no question that this has to stop. The status quo is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue.
The failure of the Ottawa police so far to bring an end to the occupation and the persistence of border blockades until the declaration of emergency measures show that additional measures are necessary to break the logjam. I am glad that all the border crossings have reopened in the last several days and I look forward to the end of the illegal occupation of Ottawa, an end that I hope comes swiftly and peacefully.
There have been many protests in Canada over the 34 years since the Emergencies Act was developed as an alternative to the War Measures Act. None of them have resulted in a prolonged weeks-long occupation of the nation's capital city. None of them have been characterized as this one is by the active and sustained harassment of residents in their homes, on the street and in their places of work. The fact that many Canadians are feeling legitimate fatigue because of the pandemic challenges we have all had to suffer does not excuse this behaviour. The fact that many Canadians share a desire with convoy organizers to lift public health measures does not absolve the organizers of responsibility for their undemocratic objectives.
The fact that most Canadians fed up with vaccine mandates and passports do not support white supremacy or endorse messages of hate does not make this small number of Canadians who do any less dangerous in this volatile time. I believe that many Canadians, frustrated and tired of the pandemic, have sympathy for the convoy because they want to see an end to certain public health measures, but I believe that the overwhelming majority of them do not support the extremist views and objectives of the convoy organizers. It is very important that there be space in our country for debate about the issues of the day. In our day, that includes the nature and extent of public health measures.
On my part, I believe that the discussion should be led by public health officials on the basis of the best available information. I have been consistent in that position since the outset of the pandemic and I will continue to be, even as I respect the right of others to disagree. Many Canadians want to have a discussion about public health measures, including vaccine mandates and passport systems. There is room for this discussion in a democracy and the right to engage in those conversations has to be protected. Ending the illegal occupation and stopping the extremists who have their own undemocratic political agenda is necessary to make space for that legitimate debate and protest. It may also create space for Dr. Tam to undertake the review of public health measures that she hinted at on February 4, measures that have largely been expected to come after the omicron wave, even before the convoy left for Ottawa.
Making changes to public health orders while the occupation persists is not advisable, in my opinion, because it would encourage people to think that public policy can be set by intimidation and the threat of violence. Capitulation does not work. In Winnipeg, where the Manitoba Conservatives announced a sudden change to public health orders in response to the convoy, demonstrators are still set up downtown, even though the province has said all public health measures will be lifted within the next several weeks.
In my day, I have been part of many different political demonstrations and supported many different causes. I have seen police clear out demonstrations of people protesting against free trade agreements and racism and in defence of indigenous rights far more quickly and far more brutally, despite those demonstrations being truly peaceful demonstrations. I recall not that long ago in Winnipeg, in 2020, in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder at the hands of police, a demonstration at the legislature that was attended by thousands of people. I remember organizers in the lead-up to that event publicly communicating that violent demonstrators were not welcome. I remember them working to make a plan that would make it hard for anyone who wanted to hijack the demonstration with violent or hateful acts, and it was a successful demonstration. Many people made their point, went home and continued to be involved in all sorts of continuing anti-racism activity, including protests and demonstrations, but they did not occupy downtown Winnipeg for weeks on end.
We have even seen camps of the homeless, who have nowhere else to go, get cleared out in no time by police, simply for being in some of the same spaces that are being occupied now in downtown Winnipeg. It was not a problem to clear out the homeless. I do not know why it is acceptable to allow other folks to set up in the way that they have when others who are just seeking to live in some kind of community get cleared out.
I was talking earlier about the demonstration surrounding George Floyd's death in Winnipeg. I think that is what a commitment to peaceful protests looks like in responsible political organizing. It takes work. There are people who do that work. We can tell by their public messages. I have not seen that kind of leadership from the organizers of these occupations. I have to say that if any efforts have been made, they certainly have not been effective.
I was pleased last Thursday when the member for Portage—Lisgar and the interim leader of the Conservative Party finally called for the convoy to go home, but they have not gone home. The Ottawa police have shown they cannot be trusted to send them home, and so we have to have additional measures to move them along.
I agree that the Prime Minister has done a terrible job as a leader through this crisis. While it is right to call out proponents of hate and extremists in the crowd and in the ranks of the organizers, it is wrong to lump the far larger group of Canadians who are tired of public health messages into that group. It has not served our national dialogue, it has not served our country and it has not served our body politic.
I would be remiss if I did not note that the Conservatives have been engaging in their own brand of politics on these issues. The Conservative government in Manitoba was the first to implement a vaccine passport system, but federal Conservatives never showed up on the steps of the legislature to oppose that system. Leaked letters show that the interim Conservative leader has been more concerned about making this a political problem for the Prime Minister than to help the country find a way to de-escalate and get out of this situation. While there is absolutely a very serious responsibility on the part of the Prime Minister to provide that leadership, there is also a responsibility on others in this House, particularly the leader of the official opposition. Leaked letters have also shown that the Conservative premier of Manitoba has been happy to privately beg the Prime Minister to intervene while criticizing his intervention publicly.
What I am trying to say is that there are a lot of different political agendas at work in and around the convoy, but the upshot is that the people of Ottawa have been terrorized in their homes for weeks now, while the country careens toward a level of political instability we have not seen in my lifetime. That is why it really is time for the convoy to go home. That does not mean it is time for the discussion around public health measures to end, but it means that those who want to demonstrate and those who want to protest have to start doing so in a peaceful way.
I know there have been many who have done this in a peaceful way, but as with the efforts made by the organizers of the other protests that I was referring to earlier, there has to be an effort to root out the violence and the extremists and those who are intimidating people in Ottawa. That has to become far more a part of the public message of this convoy in order for the real issues that people are concerned about to be heard. They may not agree with me on those issues, and that is okay, but if they want that message to be heard, then their political organizing has to take a shape very different from the shape it has taken in the convoy.
I appeal to all those Canadians who may be frustrated and angry with me because I have not called for an end to all public health measures right now. I prefer to defer to public health officials on this point, but I call for them, in their good spirit and in their good faith, to start actively calling on the convoy organizers to promote peace, to dislodge themselves from downtown Ottawa and anywhere else where they are hanging on, and then to engage in the kinds of peaceful protests that Canada knows very well. I think that is how we get this dialogue back on track and create a path to unity in Canada.
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- Feb/17/22 4:51:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not think it makes sense for a Prime Minister to meet with a group that has a stated objective of displacing a democratically elected government with some kind of self-appointed committee and the Governor General and the Senate. I read the MOU and I thought it was ridiculous. Unfortunately, it sounded so ridiculous that too many people, including people in the Ottawa Police Service and the government, failed to take seriously the threat that these folks represent to stability.
There are a lot of Canadians who have supported them in good faith without taking that part of it seriously, but that part of it, and the determination that it represents, has been a big part of why this has been such an obstinate protest and why it has been so hard to dislodge. That is the part that we now need to deal with.
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- Feb/17/22 4:52:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what test has been met in order to justify this extreme measure? The former NDP member of Parliament Svend Robinson has said:
I was in the House during 1988 debate on the Act, when we were promised that “emergency powers can only be used when the situation is so drastic that no other law of Canada can deal with the situation”.
That test has not been met.
@NDP can [you] stop this.
It is clear from the member's speech that the New Democrats are not going to stop this. What is happening in Ottawa that regular laws cannot deal with? We saw all the other blockades at borders removed with existing laws. What is the specific law that has to come into place to take care of something that has been taken care of elsewhere?
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- Feb/17/22 4:53:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would note that some of those border blockades were only cleared out once the state of emergency had been declared. Therefore, in some of those cases, this declaration has played a role in having those clear out.
Second, I would note that for as much as there may be powers under existing laws to clear out Ottawa, the Ottawa Police Service has not done it. Something in the context needs to change, and this is how we get to the position we are in.
I wish we had had a more unified call across party lines early in the convoy to send the message that they should all go home. Instead, we saw a lot of people in this place encourage them, which is not to say that they should not be giving voice to the legitimate questions about public health measures. Even where there is disagreement between the NDP and those folks who hold views about—
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- Feb/17/22 4:55:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am a bit surprised to see the NDP change without warning, from yesterday, the values that are part of its DNA. They are a humanist, social democratic political group, and I do not understand this reversal.
We will be voting on this order on Monday. This afternoon, one hour or two ago, we heard the Ottawa police chief say that this weekend will not be like the previous ones and he will clear out the place in a certain way.
In that context, is it still appropriate for us to spend three days discussing this, only to show up on Monday with a bill that may no longer be relevant?
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- Feb/17/22 5:40:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
I am a father of three daughters and I understand well the analogy of raising children. I also understand very well that we are a nation of laws and that the rule of law needs to be enforced.
I again ask the individuals outside to please go home, go back to their loved ones and go back to their families. Let us do the right thing. Let us allow the citizens of Ottawa to return to their normal daily lives, and let us hope that this situation resolves itself peacefully so we can all move on with our lives, especially the wonderful citizens of our nation's capital.
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- Feb/17/22 5:42:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, just this Monday, the City of Ottawa still claimed it did not have enough resources from provincial and federal governments to deal with the occupation. Just the day before that, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness was blaming the police for the lack of enforcement. While there may be some truth to both claims, both are finger pointing and blaming each other. This is not what Canadians need. They need leadership.
Do my Liberal colleagues agree that it is unacceptable that we see arguments about resources in the third week of this occupation? Why has this not been figured out yet?
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- Feb/17/22 5:43:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I do not believe in Monday-morning quarterbacking. What I believe in is leadership and action. Our government, every step of the way, has worked with the City of Ottawa and provided resources whether it is RCMP officers, intelligence or intelligence gathering. We will continue to work with every single province and territory and with our municipal leaders as well.
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- Feb/17/22 5:51:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the convoy leaders, an individual named Chris Barber, was just arrested about 10 minutes ago, which leads us to believe in what the acting Ottawa police chief said. At his press conference this afternoon, he said that there would be a strong, forceful response and that this weekend would not be a repeat of the previous ones.
Is the Emergencies Act still relevant, given that seven out of 10 provinces refuse it, and all the places in Quebec and in Canada that were blocked by truckers have been cleared, apart from Ottawa?
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- Feb/17/22 5:53:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I helped my neighbour recently, pleading with the occupiers who have held residents in Ottawa hostage, back into her home, she said to me that nothing she does matters. Nobody cares and nobody is helping. Unfortunately, I could not say anything to ease her concerns. It should have never come to this. A lack of clear leadership on the part of the government is why we are here today. Workers have lost wages, businesses have shut down and the health and well-being of the residents of Ottawa have declined.
Does the member agree we could have avoided being where we are today if the Liberals had shown immediate and clear leadership from the outset?
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- Feb/17/22 6:05:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to read a quote.
What we have seen in the occupation of Ottawa and blockages at border crossings is not the right of protest enshrined in our constitution, but illegal activity that represents a national security and economic threat to Canada.
That is a quote from February 14 from Peter MacKay, a previous member of Parliament, as I am sure this member knows very well.
I am curious if she could comment as to whether or not she agrees with Peter MacKay's assessment of what is going on.
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- Feb/17/22 6:08:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we need to respect the rights of indigenous and first nations persons in Canada.
At this juncture, I believe that the illegal blockades in Ottawa must end. I said that throughout my speech. I also outlined how the federal government could be using many of the tools that are at its disposal or could have used them in the past, but instead chose the nuclear option of the Emergencies Act. This benefits no one. This power grab takes away power from everyone in Canada, including first nations and indigenous persons. We should not be supporting it. We should be trying to find ways to come together, to uphold the rule of law while resolving our differences without giving further power to the Government of Canada.
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- Feb/17/22 6:23:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Fundy Royal for his speech and for rising to oppose the Emergencies Act. I am doing so as well. I remember that, in question period either last week or the week before, because this situation has been going on for three weeks, the government was asked why it was not taking action, why it was not moving, why it was not doing anything about the protesters. The answer was that it was up to Ottawa police to handle the situation. Three weeks later, the government invoked the Emergencies Act. It makes no sense. How did we get to this point?
The Ottawa police chief announced that they are finally going to take action. What is the member expecting to happen this weekend?
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- Feb/17/22 6:24:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, to the member's final comment, it is clear that Ottawa residents would disagree completely. Some residents have been the target of racist, misogynistic and homophobic attacks by people involved in this illegal occupation.
Let us be clear. This has lasted as long as it has in part because of the way in which the Conservatives, including the Conservative leader, have aided and abetted the illegal occupation. Just today we heard from news media that a Conservative MP was giving a thumbs-up to members of the illegal occupation.
What will it take for the Conservatives to condemn the illegal occupation and take a stand against those who want to overthrow democracy and against movements led by white supremacists?
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- Feb/17/22 6:49:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the fact is that we will have the opportunity over the next four or five days to find what is wrong here. Members of Parliament understand that something must be done about what has currently happened. Where we are now is not about the city police not having the original jurisdiction, which could have prevented this. It is an entrenched, well-funded, well-supported effort that is not only successfully shutting down the centre of Ottawa, but I feel successfully menacing the parliamentary procedures in this place.
We have an opportunity through this debate for government members to come forward to clarify that they are not, in the order in council, giving themselves a blank cheque. One of the Quebec members from the NDP made the point that this is not a blank cheque, but I think it could be tightened up so we actually know the limits of what we are about to approve, which should be geographically confined, as well as specific to the circumstances.
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- Feb/17/22 6:53:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have to say, over the last couple of days, I have heard, first of all, inaccurate and complete anti-indigenous racism in the rhetoric around what is going on outside. This is not a peaceful protest. This is an illegal occupation. To be stigmatized within what is going on out there is absolutely damaging and violent to indigenous people from across this country.
I want to read something to the hon. member very quickly. It was written for The Guardian by Arwa Mahdawi. She writes:
There’s a lot going on in the world right now. If you’re not Canadian, then the protest in Ottawa might not be top of your list of things to worry about. But I’m afraid you should be worried. You should certainly be paying attention. What’s unfolding in Ottawa is not a grassroots protest that has spontaneously erupted out of the frustration of local lorry drivers. Rather, it’s an astroturfed movement—one that creates an impression of widespread grassroots support where little exists—funded by a global network of highly organised far-right groups and amplified by Facebook’s misinformation machine.
We know that the Soldiers of Odin and the yellow jackets are involved in this. They are posing a threat to our democracy. Our democracy is under threat. I would like to caution the member when referring to indigenous people as examples when we are talking about an alt-right, white supremacist movement fuelled and funded by the white supremacist movement on the other side.
Does the hon. member agree that is not a fair—
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