44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 17, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/17/22 10:28:18 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, police forces across the country now have more tools to deal with these illegal blockades and occupations, if and when they occur.
We will continue to ensure that the measures are proportionate, reasonable and time-limited. However, it was and is important to give more tools to the police who need them.
We understand that the police were able to keep the situation under control in many parts of the country, but the Emergencies Act applies from one end of the country to the other. However, it will be used only when necessary.
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- Feb/17/22 10:29:37 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to reiterate that from day one of these barricades, blockages and occupations, the federal government has been supplying resources and working closely with local police officers of jurisdiction to ensure they had the tools they needed. Obviously, the situation has evolved. The situation has escalated, but every step of the way the federal government has been there to support the law enforcement of jurisdiction. Here in Ottawa it is the Ottawa Police Service and the OPP, and we will continue to be there with the RCMP as necessary.
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- Feb/17/22 10:43:05 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. The Emergencies Act is a last resort. This was not the first option and is certainly not the option we prefer.
In response to this convoy and illegal blockade, we had to add a lot of resources to help the police restore public order on the ground. However, we have gotten to a very difficult point right now with a lot of challenges, which is why we invoked this measure.
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- Feb/17/22 11:28:19 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a big difference between offering additional powers to other police forces and taking powers away from other levels of government so they can be handed over to one's own police force. Once again, the government is performing some gymnastic manoeuvres with a few extra twists, which would outdo any figure skating routine in Beijing.
When measures are necessary, are appropriate, and restrict freedoms, the government should explain and justify them, rather than claim that they do not restrict those freedoms. Whether these actions are justified or not, the government is claiming that seizing someone's bank account or preventing someone from walking down a particular street does not restrict their freedoms.
There are things that are obvious, but this government is a master of claiming the opposite of what is obvious and repeating it among its members.
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- Feb/17/22 12:16:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question.
From the start of the crisis, we worked with other governments across Canada and with the RCMP. The RCMP worked with other police forces. We saw that there were gaps and that we needed to work together. By bringing in measures that did not exist before, we gave Canada's police forces additional tools to better address and manage their respective situations. We are filling in the gaps.
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- Feb/17/22 12:17:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have been here for much of the last three weeks, and what I have seen in Ottawa is a complete failure of civic officials and a complete failure of the police. This should never have been allowed to spiral. In Quebec City and Toronto, we saw that the police did their job. At the Ambassador Bridge, we saw the ridiculous situation of our bridge being shut down for eight days without action.
Now we are having to take these measures. The minister is talking about anti-terrorism measures. Is the government able to tell the House that it has evidence that there is terrorism and extremism that can justify this measure, or do we just have to clean up the mess from the failure of what happened here in Ottawa?
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- Feb/17/22 12:29:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I understand and share the concerns that people have about the potential long-term impacts of the use of emergency measures legislation, in particular, as it relates to the expansion of the institution of policing, given the past abuses and overreach against legitimate political actions by indigenous, racial and climate-justice activists and workers. However, with the capital and country in crisis, Canadians are feeling abandoned by their local police services who have repeatedly been caught on video compromised and at times seeming to be working in collusion with the insurrectionist occupation.
The last royal commission on policing was in 1962. Will the Minister of Public Safety commit to establishing a national commission on policing that would review the duties assigned to the police and their corresponding budgets, and will the minister commit to a secretariat or some other office to report on the radicalization and use of public resources and security forces for undemocratic ends?
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- Feb/17/22 12:30:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the things that has become quite apparent, and I have heard concern across the country as well, is an overwhelming desire that the police in this country do their job and that they do it right, that they do it in a way that is compliant with all of our laws, with our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that their response is measured, thoughtful, proportional and effective. We are working hard to make sure they have the tools and support they need.
I spent 40 years in policing. Policing must always be accountable to the people it serves, because the most important tool that the police have is the trust and confidence of the people they serve. We will always work to maintain that trust and confidence.
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- Feb/17/22 12:47:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member is putting words in my mouth. I am not saying this is a simple inconvenience for the people of downtown Ottawa. I am not downplaying the experiences she mentioned. I believe they are true experiences and unacceptable experiences. However, they are experiences that can be dealt with through existing laws. Harassment is a crime. Intimidation is a crime. It is up to police to enforce these measures. We do not need emergency powers to enforce existing laws.
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- Feb/17/22 1:27:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am sure it will come as no surprise that I entirely disagree. Canadians have lost confidence in many different institutions as a result of what has been happening over the course of the last three weeks. Top of mind are the police. I believe many Canadians across the country question whether law enforcement was there, and this Emergencies Act provides more tools to our police force to maintain confidence in law and order in this country.
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- Feb/17/22 1:57:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, with all due respect, the police and law enforcement authorities in this country deal with threats and deal with violence every single day. They deal with it effectively, they deal with it forcefully, and they deal with it definitively. Our Crown prosecutors make sure that those people come to justice.
The expression that is coming to my mind is, “Oh ye of little faith”. Why do you have such little faith in the people who are tasked with keeping us safe? We do not need these extraordinary measures.
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- Feb/17/22 1:58:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I never thought I would do this, but I am going to pick up on what the member for Timmins—James Bay just said.
When will the Conservatives acknowledge that there is an actual threat that the police clearly do not have the means to contain?
When will they admit that the evidence is right in front of them, what with the weapons seizure in Coutts and the threats made right out in the open on social media?
What more proof does my colleague need to be convinced that the police are failing to contain the ongoing occupation here in Ottawa?
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- Feb/17/22 2:33:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question.
The government is learning a lot from concrete actions that have been taken since the illegal blockades began. For instance, the government has offered additional resources to police forces, which is making a difference. However, at the same time, the blockades have caused the police a great deal of frustration.
That is one of the reasons why we invoked the Emergencies Act. We will continue to provide police services with all the tools they need.
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- Feb/17/22 2:35:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, police services have been working hard and spending a lot of energy to de-escalate the situation on the ground. For example, today there is a dialogue between the police and the blockaders to encourage them to leave now.
This is the most effective solution, and the government will continue to provide all the resources and tools that the police need.
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- Feb/17/22 3:38:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on February 7, the City of Ottawa asked for help. It asked for 1,800 extra police officers.
The department sent 275 police officers, most of whom are deployed around Parliament, mainly around ministers and the Prime Minister. It appears that there are only 20 extra police officers on the street right now, out of the 1,800 who were requested.
My question is, if the request from the Ottawa police had been met, is it possible that we would be in a different situation?
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- Feb/17/22 3:55:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are here because of a failure of leadership, and it is day 21 of the occupation in our nation's capital. Local leadership has failed and police inaction has been on full display, even police complicity. Shockingly, the Conservative leader and Conservative MPs have been aiding and abetting the illegal occupation. Then we have the Liberals, who have sat by for going on four weeks and have not taken the measures necessary to crack down on an illegal occupation led by a number of folks who are known to be associated with white supremacy.
Why did the Liberals, once the first clear signs were out there, not crack down on this illegal occupation, particularly on the funding, including foreign funding?
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- Feb/17/22 4:07:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while my colleague was speaking, we got a notification about a perimeter being erected around Ottawa's downtown just a few metres from here. Apparently the police are preparing to intervene.
Things are getting more and more serious now. All of this could have been avoided. Here is my question for my colleague.
What happens next? Is there any way to avoid chaos, physical confrontation and injury? Are we headed straight for a bloodbath?
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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 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 6:56:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I feel as though the city of Ottawa and many Canadians are in the situation of a battered wife, where the police ask if her husband has used a gun on her or hurt her yet. We are menaced by an occupation, and we do not want to wait any longer to have this problem solved. We found guns in Coutts. We know that this group has been infiltrated by the alt-right global network, which the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre referred to earlier.
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