44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 17, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/17/22 9:27:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Fleetwood—Port Kells.
It is with sadness, but with resolve, that I rise to take part in this historic debate. The country, and indeed the world, is watching what is happening here. I hope that we can prove to be worthy of this moment in Canada’s history.
I would like to begin by thanking the members of the Parliamentary Protective Service who have been working hard to keep us all safe and to ensure that the people’s servants can continue the people’s work uninterrupted. It is so important that our work continues, and that we show the people outside, and indeed the world, that our democracy is strong and that we will not be intimidated.
We are three weeks into the occupation of Ottawa. Centred as it is on our workplace, we have been unable to avoid its impact. As we reflect, I would ask that we remember that some members' experiences may be different from mine. Some may feel comfortable walking through the lines without fear. As a racialized woman, a very visible Muslim because of my choice to wear the hijab, my experience has been different. I cannot ignore the ties to white supremacy, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism within this movement.
One of those arrested in Coutts for possession of a weapon and other charges has a history of Islamophobic social media posts and memes, pushing the conspiracy theory that the Prime Minister is working with “Islamists” to take over Canada through immigration. We have seen how online hate can transition to real-world violence, so it is with worry that I walk to Parliament each day, watching carefully those around me. It is a heavy weight to carry. It weighs on my soul. My husband and my children are worried for me, but I told them I am going to keep showing up. I will not be intimidated.
I would like to address some of the points I often hear from the supporters of the occupiers. They say this is a peaceful protest. It is just hot tubs and bouncy castles. No. It is much more. These numbers are maybe a day or two old, but Ottawa police have launched more than 172 criminal investigations. They have made 18 arrests, laid 33 charges, and issued over 3,000 tickets. In Coutts, four have been charged with conspiracy to murder RCMP officers, and there have been 13 arrests, with the seizure of more than a dozen long guns and hand guns, as well as ammunition and body armour. In Windsor, police have made more than 42 arrests, and have seized 37 vehicles since the protests there began. People have been verbally and physically assaulted for exercising their freedom to wear a mask. This is not a peaceful protest.
Actions do not have to be physical to be violent. Preventing someone from earning a living, going to work or running a business is a violent act. The Rideau Centre and many other downtown Ottawa businesses have been closed for weeks because police cannot guarantee people's safety from maskless protesters seeking to intimidate and frighten employees and customers. Hundreds of minimum-wage retail and food workers are unable to go to work and earn the money they need to pay their rent and feed their kids. The closure of the Ambassador Bridge cost $360 million in two-way trade every day it was closed. Auto workers and others reliant on that trade faced temporary layoffs. This is not a peaceful protest.
The two major grocery stores in the downtown core have been forced to close at times during this occupation for safety reasons, making it difficult for residents to even buy groceries. Bus service has been shut down through most of the core, and not everyone is able to walk, especially at -30°C as it has been some days. This is not a peaceful protest.
Protesters are making residents feel unsafe walking their children down the street. They are taking away their freedom of movement by occupying the streets, polluting the air with diesel fumes 24-7 and with honking so constant and loud that it took a court order to somewhat reduce it. This is not a peaceful protest. It is torture.
I support peaceful protests. For those people for whom this is about vaccine mandates, especially those outside of Ottawa who do not see what life has been like for people here in Ottawa, I want to say that is a fair debate. They have a right to protest and be heard, and I understand their frustration.
We are all frustrated. We are all tired of this pandemic. I want it to be over as much as they do. I have family overseas I have not been able to visit in two years. Believe me, their voice has been heard and understood. However, we cannot just wish this pandemic away. Canadians have sacrificed too much. I believe, I hope, we are close to the end, but I do not want to risk seeing restrictions lifted too early and people dying who did not have to. That is the challenge here, I believe.
I support people's right to protest on these points. They can peacefully park their vehicles, take the LRT downtown, stand on the lawn and protest all day. Peaceful protest does not mean blocking city streets. It does not mean blocking trade and commerce. It does not mean threatening and intimidating local residents who are just trying to live their lives. It is time to give the people of Ottawa their city back.
Allow me to say to the people of Ottawa that I am sorry. We are sorry for what they have had to live through and endure. They do not deserve this. I will not prejudge the commissions and the inquiries that will follow. Right now, the focus must be on restoring order, but they have deserved better from all of us.
I would like to speak to our staff. I started my career in politics as an assistant at Queen's Park, and I know how hard our staff works. We get to go home on the weekends, back to our ridings and away from this occupation. They have to stay here because our Ottawa staff live here, many of them in Centretown or the ByWard Market, in the heart of this.
I urge my colleagues to ask their staff, whom we could not do our jobs without, how they feel. How are they doing? How is their mental health through all this? What is it like on the weekends, when we have gone home but thousands more people, bent on trouble and violence, descend on the downtown core? I am so sorry they and their families have had to go through this. I am sorry that some have had to watch as their bosses have posed for photos with the people making their lives unbearable: photos that they then have to post on their bosses' social media. I am sorry, and I hope they have the support they need to get through this.
I believe in the Charter of Rights, but I feel as if so many who quote it have not really read it. With rights come responsibilities, and their rights do not override my rights. We have a responsibility to one another. That is part of living in a democratic society. Canada is founded on the principles of peace, order and good government. Across our country today, that is under threat by a foreign-funded movement that, under the guise of vaccine mandates, seeks to disrupt our lives, disrupt our trade and commerce, and disrupt our faith in our institutions and in one another.
The measures in this act are targeted. They are proportionate. They respect the charter, and they give the police the tools and the powers they need to restore law and order in our country. It is time to put our democracy first. I will be supporting this order.
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- Feb/17/22 9:38:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, having now declared the public order emergency, this declaration will only last for 30 days unless renewed. Our government is conscious of the need for transparency and parliamentary oversight as we have undertaken this action, so in the coming days, a parliamentary committee will be struck to provide oversight while the emergency is in effect.
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- Feb/17/22 9:39:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as the Prime Minister has made clear, the Emergencies Act is not the first option exercised or even the third or fourth. It is important to remember that local police are the first responders and the force of jurisdiction. In the case of Ottawa, it is the Ottawa Police Service. From the beginning, since the City of Ottawa began to make requests for support and resources, the government has worked with the city to ensure the RCMP is providing the support the city asked for.
First the City of Ottawa declared an emergency and then the Province of Ontario did, and we continue to coordinate with and support local authorities. We established an integrated command centre with the Ottawa police, the OPP and the RCMP to bring more resources forward. Only when it was clear that this crisis was national in scope and that existing authorities available to the local police of jurisdiction were insufficient did the government reluctantly take this action.
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- Feb/17/22 9:41:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it has always been a pleasure working with the hon. member on many committees.
I totally agree that peaceful protests are an important part of our democracy and that everyone should have the right to peacefully protest, but these are illegal blockades blocking our trade corridors and our borders. As I mentioned in my speech, the closure of the Ambassador Bridge cost $390 million per day in lost trade with our most important trading partner, the U.S.
These are not peaceful protests. These are illegal blockades. We need to finally end these illegal blockades so that the people of Ottawa can have their lives back.
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