SoVote

Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Feb/19/22 11:46:15 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I guess the political left does not want to defund the police anymore. This summer, I was at a friend's party and met a young couple who were in the process of making dramatic last-minute changes to their wedding plans. They had been planning to get married in the beautiful century-old Catholic church that was the heart and soul of the community of Morinville, Alberta. It was the church in which she had grown up. However, the church had been burned to the ground a few weeks before in a likely act of arson, protest and terror. Morinville is about a 45-minute drive from where I live. On the morning after that fire, I drove out to see the situation. When I got there, the fire was still burning. While I watched, local fire crews had to do the painful work of knocking down parts of the structure to preserve public safety and avoid the risk of further spread. In addition to the threat of a burning building, there was also a gas line under the church and apartments nearby. Although no one was hurt in this attack, the additional risk of an explosion and risk to human life were very significant. This violent and dangerous act in Morinville was not an isolated incident. In the summer of last year, acts of arson destroyed more than a dozen churches of various denominations, with innumerable other acts of vandalism or attempted violence happening as well. The Prime Minister answered a question from the media about what happened in Morinville, but did not proactively issue a single statement about this wild rampage of destruction in western Canada. The Prime Minister's close friend and former adviser Gerry Butts called these acts “understandable”. Two days ago, there was an extremely violent attack on a Coastal GasLink pipeline work site in B.C. The responding RCMP officers were blocked from entering the road by spiked boards, downed and tarred stumps and trees lit on fire and had smoke bombs and flaming sticks thrown at them. Meanwhile, additional violent protesters broke into the work site armed with axes and flare guns. These protesters toppled heavy machinery, cut fuel lines and smashed site vehicles and set them on fire with workers still inside. On this incident, the public safety minister said, “I’m deeply concerned to hear reports of violent confrontations at a work site”. I would say respectfully to the minister that this was not a matter of violent confrontation; it was a premeditated violent attack on working people who were just trying to do their jobs. What is the climate in which such acts of violence against places of worship and energy workers have come to take place here in Canada? The much venerated David Suzuki has said that pipelines will be “blown up”. The current sitting Minister of Environment in the Liberal government once attacked the home of Alberta's then premier Ralph Klein. He climbed on the roof of his private home as part of an activist stunt, apparently terrifying the premier's wife, who was home alone at the time. Other members of the House, including the former leader of the Green Party and the former NDP MP who is now the mayor of Vancouver, have been arrested for more benign acts of law-breaking. I believe in the rule of law. The rule of law means that everyone is equally bound and protected by law. Whether they are sitting in a protest camp on Wellington Street or sitting in the federal cabinet, whether they drive a truck to work or work in the federal public service or whether they belong to a populist pro-Trump movement or a democratic socialist climate alarmist movement, such people have an obligation to follow the law and also have a right to be protected by it. When the law is selectively applied to penalize people based on their political views, that is by definition a violation of the rule of law. While calling out illegal blockades of critical infrastructure and other forms of law-breaking by protesters, we must also acknowledge that the rule of law is being threatened by a government that is woefully inconsistent in the way it treats protesters, and that this inconsistency is based on the political preferences and biases of the people in power. This brings the law into disrepute. At the heart of the idea of the rule of law is a contract: I will follow the law and I will have the protection of the law. When people are told to follow the law but do not have the fair and equal protection of the law, then we are no longer speaking of rule of law but of rule by law. Rule of law is where the law rules. Rule by law is where laws are used by powerful people to dominate others. We need to appreciate the difference. The Oka crisis, 9/11, the violent G7 and G20 protests, the blockades from two years ago, the series of attacks on places of worship and the violence targeting energy workers were not cause for the use of emergency powers. When this hammer is being used to target working people engaged in civil disobedience in response to unjustified and unscientific vaccine mandates, we see that the contract at the heart of what it means to be a rule-of-law society seems to be fraying. If I had seen the church I was about to get married in burn to the ground, if I had lost my job or access to vital services because of vaccine mandates or if I had seen acts of lawlessness ignored, defended and even perpetrated by senior leaders in this country, then I would find it a bit rich for the government to say that the current situation constitutes a unique national emergency. The contract at the heart of a rule-of-law society is fraying, and we see a Prime Minister with an incredible personal record of corruption, the only Prime Minister in history to violate ethics law on multiple occasions. He is now claiming that other people should be subject to severe and disproportionate consequences for so much as donating to the convoy even weeks before any blockading began. It seems to me that the most important question for Canada today is not just about the particulars of this moment, but about how we got here. We got here because of the arbitrary and inconsistent application of decisions by the government, the demonization of people who disagreed and the decline of our democratic institutions, leading people to believe that their voice cannot be heard any other way. If we are going to come together as a country and address the pain and division that have been sown, then we have to ask ourselves why the voice of a mother crying because her son lost his business and died by suicide because of COVID restrictions is not heard as loudly as the sound of a horn honking on Wellington Street. Why is it that a community of refugees from Egypt who had their house of worship burned to the ground in Surrey last year could not even get a statement from the Prime Minister, but potential for violence from this convoy led to a national state of emergency? We have to address the lack of empathy that clearly permeates our halls of power and the lack of concern for working Canadians who have lost jobs and opportunity as a result of pandemic policy, as well as the broader attack on their livelihoods that we are seeing through government policy. It may be hard for some people here to fully understand what many Canadians are going through, but I ask members to spare a thought for people like the NDP leader's brother-in-law. The NDP leader may not be prepared to stand up for his brother-in-law, but I will be here to stand in the breach—

1351 words

All Topics

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/19/22 11:53:06 p.m.
Watch

We have a point of order from the hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou. However, before I go to her, I would ask the hon. member to adjust his boom a bit higher because we are getting some popping, and I am not sure if that is causing the problem. The hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.

57 words

Mrs. Julie Vignola

Feb/19/22 11:53:26 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, my colleague is passionate, which means that he is speaking very quickly and the interpreters are having a hard time keeping up. I know that passion can be expressed in ways other than speaking quickly.

37 words

All Topics

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/19/22 11:53:42 p.m.
Watch

I encourage the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan to slow down a bit so that the interpreters can keep up with his speech. The hon. member has three minutes.

31 words

Mr. Garnett Genuis

Feb/19/22 11:54:01 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I am grateful to the interpreters for the important work they do. Mr. Dhaliwal donated $13,000 to the “freedom convoy”. After the fact, according to an NDP source, Mr. Dhaliwal asked for his money back. This NDP source conveniently claims that there had been a misunderstanding about the true nature of the organization, which sounds like the sort of thing an NDP source would say. Regardless, let us take the NDP source at their word and suppose that Mr. Dhaliwal, the NDP leader's brother-in-law, donated as a result of a misunderstanding. Perhaps he accidentally clicked on the wrong GoFundMe page. Perhaps he donated $13,000 before he had a chance to read the description. Let us say this is entirely true, and let us say that Mr. Dhaliwal was not the only one. I am sure there are many everyday Canadians just like Mr. Dhaliwal who have donated to the convoy for various reasons: because they oppose mandates, because they are concerned about the impact on the supply chain, because they want to show support for truckers or because of some sort of misunderstanding. I do not want Mr. Dhaliwal to have to worry about his bank account being frozen without a court order because of these emergency measures. The NDP might no longer be prepared to stand up for workers, civil liberties and members of the NDP leader's own family, but the Conservatives are prepared to step up when the NDP have let their own people down. My colleagues have pointed out that the NDP and the Liberals are becoming almost exactly alike, but I do see one clear difference: Unlike the NDP leader, we know that the Prime Minister has a track record of doing a great deal to defend the financial interests of his family. In spite of the challenges we face, I am much more optimistic about the future of our country than I was three or four months ago. With its complex cast of characters, the presence of a few unsavoury individuals and tens of thousands of people working for an end to mandates and a return to normal life, the convoy movement has led to a renewed interest in political involvement and participation within my constituency and across the country. It has inspired more Canadians to stand up for peace, order and good government. Last night, I held a virtual town hall on short notice to discuss the Emergencies Act. There were over 300 participants, plus their family members and spouses. The message was overwhelming and confirmed my decision to vote no. The participants also asked many good questions about how our democratic process works, how to influence change and how they can get involved. Canadians do not want division and they do not want lawlessness. They want a restoration of the rule of law through ordinary and lawful means, whereby citizens and leaders respect human rights and follow the law and whereby the law is applied equally to all regardless of their political views or status. They want an end to the mandates, and they want public health policies that are based on science. They want the ability to work and raise a family. The next convoy will not be a protest convoy; it will be a voters' convoy. After this weekend, people will turn their attention toward learning about and engaging in the democratic process to defeat this divisive government and its NDP allies and replace them with a government that will defend freedom, opportunity and, yes, the rule of law. God keep our land glorious.

603 words

All Topics

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Feb/19/22 11:57:08 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I have listened quite extensively today to the Conservatives and their reactions to the blockades and the protesters, and I note the amount of support they continue to provide that group. There is a conflicting message. On one hand, they say that they are against the blockades and want people to go home, and on the other hand, they are worshipping their actions. We have been consistent. The blockades have cost our communities a great deal. They shut down downtown Ottawa. Some blockades were for economic purposes and caused job losses at our borders in Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario. The need is there, and a good example with this enactment is the issue of children. Children were actually used as part of the blockade. I wonder if the member can provide his thoughts about using children in illegal blockades. Does he support that too?

146 words

All Topics

Mr. Garnett Genuis

Feb/19/22 11:58:14 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, frankly, even from this member I expect better. My position has been clear: yes to peaceful protests, yes to those calling for an end to mandates and no to illegal blockading of critical infrastructure. I would say this consistently across the board, regardless of who is doing the blockading. I would also say no to the arbitrary abuse of power by the government to target people who had only so much as donated to the convoy movement long before any of the blockades started. It should be a fairly simple principle, and it is one that members of the Liberals and the NDP used to understand. We cannot justify any abuse of power by government simply because we disagree with the actions of some protesters.

127 words

All Topics

Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Feb/19/22 11:59:08 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, the situation has changed in the past 48 hours. The truckers have left and so have most of the protesters. The NDP member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie told the media that, if the truckers left, the NDP might rethink its decision. The truckers have left Ottawa and there is no more national emergency. If the Prime Minister held a free vote on this important issue, does my colleague think that there would be dissent among the Liberals and that some might vote against the decision to invoke the act?

93 words

All Topics

Mr. Garnett Genuis

Feb/19/22 11:59:57 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I have been clear that I do not agree with the emergency measures being used in the first place. I think law enforcement already had the tools they needed and that has been clear. Certainly, it should be all the more evident now, even to those who were maybe on the fence before, that the border blockades had either already ended or were well on their way to ending at the time the emergency measures were brought in. It would not make sense to continue these emergency measures at any point after the protests and blockades ended. I do want to be clear, though, that I do not think there was any justification for bringing in these measures in the first place or at any time.

128 words

All Topics

Mr. Arif Virani (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Lib.)

Feb/20/22 12:00:58 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I appreciate that the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is a man of logic, so I am going to put to him some logical issues that are troubling some of us on this side of the House. One is that the protesters have talked about the importance of freedom of expression, yet assault a journalist. Second is the importance of being antilockdown, yet this resulted in the lockdown of downtown Ottawa. Third is this idea that robust supply chains are critical and then supply chains are blocked in his own province of Alberta. Does he understand the reticence on this side of the House to dialogue with people who are engaging in such illegal activities?

119 words

All Topics

Mr. Garnett Genuis

Feb/20/22 12:01:39 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, in any other situation, the member would understand how problematic it is to cast such broad generalizations about groups of people, as if the protesters had all assaulted journalists and as if the protesters had all engaged in border blockades. This is utter nonsense. The member should know that tens of thousands of people have gone out across this country to engage in protests about these unjustifiable mandates. Many have done so peacefully. Many have done so having no sympathy whatsoever for blockading. I deplore any violence, of course. I hear that a journalist was pepper-sprayed by somebody, perhaps law enforcement or somebody else. Any attacks on journalists are totally unacceptable, regardless of where they are coming from. However, this is not representative of—

128 words

All Topics

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/20/22 12:02:28 a.m.
Watch

It being 12:02 a.m., pursuant to an order made Thursday, February 17, 2022, having reached the expiry of the time provided for today's debate, the House will resume consideration of the motion for confirmation at the next sitting of the House. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until later this day at 7 a.m., pursuant to order made on Thursday, Feburary 17, 2022. (The House adjourned at 12:02 a.m.)

75 words

SoVote

House Hansard - 34