SoVote

Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)

Feb/17/22 3:36:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I remain unconvinced by the member's argument, and I recognize the fact that he was a lawyer by profession before he came to this place. I was not a lawyer, thankfully, in my previous life, but the member, during his speech, said that there must be a very high threshold to suspend civil liberties. I would say let us not use American language, and call them charter liberties or charter freedoms. Let us Canadianize it. He said there should be an explicitly high threshold before we suspend charter liberties, but that is the opposite of what the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister said that is actually not going on, and this has happened repeatedly in the last 72 hours. Cabinet ministers say one thing, and then they are contradicted by the Prime Minister. People in my riding, back in Calgary, have very little faith in the government's handling of the situation. Can the member clarify what he just said? We are not suspending charter liberties. We are not going after people without some type of recourse to the law. Is he going to ensure the Prime Minister stays on message and stops jacking up and ratcheting up the rhetoric, as people are trying to clear protesters outside this building?

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Context: House Hansard - 33 - Feb/17/22

Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)

Feb/17/22 7:22:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member talked about withdrawing support if New Democrats see abuse. As she knows, the Emergencies Act provisions are already in force. What we are essentially talking about here is a confirmation vote by the House of Commons on whether to keep these provisions in place. What we should be doing is preventing harm from happening in the first place. What my caucus and many Conservative members want to do is to prevent the harm we see going on with innocent people having their bank accounts frozen based on commentary that has been made by the Minister of Finance. I want to draw the member's attention to what the NDP caucus did in 1970, 11 years before I was born. I was born in a country where there was martial law at the time. In 1970, Tommy Douglas took a courageous and principled stance, many people would say. I would have probably disagreed with his position, but it was definitely courageous to do. He stood against the War Measures Act at the time. Today, the NDP has decided to side with the government and allow the government extraordinary powers for 30 days. I wonder if the member would explain why.

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Context: House Hansard - 33 - Feb/17/22

Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)

Feb/17/22 7:46:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a commentary to make about the member's speech, just to set the record straight and correct the misinformation. For the last three weeks I too have been walking downtown every weekend and every day across this line, and I have met a lot of very friendly people. Of course, some people are profane in what they say; this is a protest, after all. However, the member was talking about a wrecking ball on a vehicle. It is not a wrecking ball; it is actually a hook weight at the end of a cable, and there is a difference between the two. I have met a lot of people with families. I stay at a hotel when I am down here, and I have met people who have brought their families here. There are music shows going on. The impression the member is trying to give to the general public and people back home in Calgary is that this is some type of riot that is going on downtown. Yes, people have blocked streets, and yes, we have said that they should go home. We have heard them and we are hearing them. We are addressing their concerns. However, what the government is doing here is going far too far. It is asking for powers that have not been given to anybody since the 1970s. It is asking for too much, more than the House should be willing to give. Every day that I have been here, I have not seen the same things the member has seen. I am getting thousands of emails from constituents demanding that we vote against this measure. I just wanted to correct the member that it is a weight at the end of a hook and not a wrecking ball. I just want to make that correction. Also, the vast majority of the people I have met are friendly. I have seen people play street hockey on the street, but the impression the member is giving is that this is a chaotic scene. It is unpleasant, I understand, for people who live here. It has been unpleasant for three weeks for me as well.

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