44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 17, 2022 10:00AM
- 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 7:07:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague and I have the privilege of working together on the agriculture committee. I always find him to be balanced, reasonable and quite eloquent in his remarks. I did not catch all of his speech, but I did catch the tail end.
I have often heard members in this House, particularly Bloc Québécois members and Conservative members, say that they want to see more leadership from the Government of Canada. Of course, this member would know that policing is inherently in the municipal jurisdiction and the the provincial jurisdiction, and that really the role of the federal government would be to impose some of the measures we have seen today. Ultimately, the very last resort would be to call in the army.
Can the member at least opine on what he has heard from leadership? The Conservatives are calling for the government to acquiesce to what the protesters are calling for, while the Bloc members say that this should not apply in their jurisdiction. What does the member think, in terms of leadership from the federal government? Does he agree with this as a step to giving the tools to the provinces and municipalities to address the situation at hand?
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- Feb/17/22 8:11:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wanted to mention that there have been some words tonight about this being an inconvenience or an annoyance. I want to point out the privilege that we have in the House so that we can look at something like this as just an inconvenience and an annoyance when there are families and individuals struggling right now with no income because of their lack of ability to go to work.
I want to speak about the policing. Why does the member think that policing has not been enforced even though we know that there are infractions happening and crimes happening on the street right now?
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- Feb/17/22 8:53:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will ask the member a question on policing. Some members tonight have talked about a slight inconvenience and annoyances, but others have spoken about the fear in the community. As we have all seen, the police have not been able to address crime and have not been able to enforce bylaws for municipal-level infractions.
I wonder if the member could tell us why he thinks policing has not been enforced in this situation in Ottawa.
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- Feb/17/22 11:45:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I note that the member she referenced, the member for Peace River—Westlock, also called this a “so-called emergency”. He can tell that to the people of Ottawa.
Yes, I do agree with my hon. colleague that there will have to be a really serious rethinking of how policing is done in this country. We have to look at the unconscious biases and the differential ways in which different groups of people are treated by policing and by our justice system.
Right now we need to deal with what is happening here in our city, in Ottawa. The member articulated very well some of the terrible things that residents in Ottawa are going through. I know she shares my belief that we need to get back to a place of peace and a place where people can live in safety.
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