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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 34

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 19, 2022 07:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22
Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde
  • Feb/19/22 8:52:09 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. As parliamentarians and as a government, it is not for us to dictate police instructions and operations or what the justice system is currently doing. I will leave that to the people who are better qualified than I am when it comes to the legal process that has been triggered in the past few days. I would just note that the GoFundMe page has stopped supporting the participants of the illegal blockades here in Ottawa, because it became apparent that these people may not have had the best of intentions.
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Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • Feb/19/22 11:54:01 p.m.
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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.
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