44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 20, 2022 07:00AM
- Feb/20/22 10:09:02 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I want to acknowledge that I am speaking on the traditional territories of the Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe peoples. I also acknowledge that my constituency is on the treaty lands of the Williams Treaties first nations and recognize the Chippewas of Georgina Island as the closest first nations community.
It is an honour and privilege for me to speak in this House to represent the constituents of Newmarket—Aurora. Is this not the fundamental value we are here to defend? That value is democracy, which so many people have died to defend. It is the reason my parents became part of an underground escape route in Holland to help escaped prisoners of war return home, and the reason that my parents came to Canada.
I acknowledge that some of the people who joined the protest did so to express their opposition to vaccine mandates and with the intent to protest peacefully, but it also needs to be explicitly stated that here in Ottawa, within our country and at our border crossings, our democracy was at risk from a dangerous extreme minority that had declared its intent to overthrow the government with its MOU. For the organizers of the blockades and the occupation of Ottawa, this was not about vaccine mandates. That was just a ruse. They intended to damage our economy, with no regard for the impact to our communities, and disrupt and shut down businesses, which only revealed their contempt for Canada and the rule of law.
For three weeks, blockades have been illegally disrupting the lives of Canadians, harming our economy and endangering public safety. Canadians have seen their work hours reduced, or in many cases their jobs put on hold. Factories have been put on hold, and retailers and restaurants have been forced to closed. Let us be unwavering in our condemnation of those who set out to create an economic crisis by further disrupting supply chains to create a climate of fear and uncertainty. The occupation by this illegal blockade has resulted in serious harm to our economy and to Canada's international standing.
The world's confidence in Canada as a place to invest and do business was being undermined. The blockade at the Ambassador Bridge has affected about $390 million in trade each day, and this bridge supports about 30% of all trade by road between Canada and the United States, which is our most important trading partner.
In Coutts, Alberta, about $48 million in trade has been affected by these blockades, and in Emerson, Manitoba, about $73 million in daily trade has been affected. Those impacts are real. They threaten businesses, big and small, and the livelihoods of Canadian workers. Recognizing all the provisions in place to safeguard our country, I support invoking the Emergencies Act to supplement the provincial and territorial authorities to address the blockades and the occupation. This is to keep Canadians safe, protect people's jobs and ensure our economy continues on the path of recovery while restoring confidence in our institutions.
Through the Emergencies Act, we are broadening the scope of Canada's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules so they can cover crowdfunding platforms and their payment service providers, including digital assets such as cryptocurrency. This is particularly significant in an era where social media makes it possible to broadly distribute disinformation and raise funds on that basis. Over 55% of the funds raised on these platforms came from the United States.
Through the Emergencies Act, we are providing new authorities to law enforcement to regulate crowds, prohibit blockades and keep essential corridors open. The Emergencies Act allows the government to mobilize essential services, such as tow trucks; allows the RCMP to act more swiftly to enforce local laws; and provides enhanced powers to stop the flow of money. These measures are targeted, temporary and proportionate.
Canada is a rule of law country and, when we declared the public order emergency under the Emergencies Act, we followed the law. We continue to act within it. There are clear conditions set out in the Emergencies Act for a public emergency order to be declared, and our government believes those conditions have been met, and that they require the Government of Canada to act.
The scope of these measures will be time limited and geographically targeted, as well as reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address. The Emergencies Act is intended to strengthen and support law enforcement agencies at all levels across the country. This is about keeping Canadians safe and allowing residents to go into their communities with the security and freedom to do so, while protecting people's jobs and restoring confidence in our institutions.
The Emergencies Act also contains a number of significant limits, checks and safeguards. As required by the act, on several occasions over the past week the Prime Minister and members of the cabinet consulted with the premiers and members of their respective governments. In the coming days, a parliamentary committee will be established to provide oversight while the emergency is in effect. The declaration only lasts 30 days, unless renewed. However, we can and sincerely hope to revoke the emergency much sooner.
I agree with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands when she said that it is not helpful to trivialize the gravity of this situation with references about bouncy castles, nor is it helpful to polarize this debate with antagonistic, inflammatory rhetoric and personal attacks.
These are challenging times. The pandemic has impacted all of us, and for some the impact has been one of great loss economically and personally. Over the course of this pandemic, 36,000 Canadian lives have been lost and more than 1.2 million Canadians have been diagnosed with COVID. We should also remember the 2,000 Canadians who have silently lost their lives over the last three weeks because of COVID.
Pandemic restrictions, the majority of which are imposed provincially, are starting to be lifted. Our country has 30.7 million people, or about 80% of its population, vaccinated. Efforts continue to expand the number of those who have been triple vaccinated.
It is due to the efforts of so many Canadians that we stand on the threshold of a recovery, a threshold that cannot be derailed or trampled on by a minority whose intent was seditious, an economic sabotage with a disregard for the neighbours and residents whose streets they occupied.
This was a crisis in need of the Emergencies Act. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, or CACP, wrote:
the national coordination of the Freedom Convoy 2022 has presented unique challenges.
The CACP supports the fundamental objectives of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that is intended to regulate and prohibit illegal public assemblies that lead to the breach of peace, and to restrict the funding of such illegal assemblies.
I also agree with the member for Edmonton Strathcona who stated that our constituents expect us to work together and find solutions to resolve this crisis.
In the weeks and months ahead, we need to restore faith in the institutions Canadians rely on. We need to come to a full understanding of how these blockades and the occupation were able to happen and what can be done to prevent them from happening in the future. In doing so, we must safeguard the right to protest peacefully, and we must remember the House we stand in belongs to all Canadians. We stand here at their will with the expectation to work in the best interests of Canadians.
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- Feb/20/22 10:19:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have been actively engaged in ongoing dialogue. I have, for two sittings of this House now, seen the behaviour of both sides of the House. I believe that both sides of the House own the responsibility to speak responsibly, to be open-minded and to be supportive of finding solutions. That is why Canadians sent us to this House, and that is how we should all behave.
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- Feb/20/22 10:20:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are not sure that this is over yet. There have been people who have vacated the precinct that is currently being protected, but there is also dialogue and discussion about coming back, returning. There is also dialogue about regrouping.
I think it is important for us to maintain vigilance, to monitor the process as it goes forward and to be ready to respond when it is appropriate.
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- Feb/20/22 10:21:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, protecting a free press is critically important for any democracy. It is the press that shines a light on the issues.
What I am particularly proud of is the independent ability for the media in Canada to present the facts as we go forward. I agree with the member. It is very critical that we should be going forward and making sure that we do have a free press that is protected and that has the same rights as anyone else who is seeking to report the facts to our communities.
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- Feb/20/22 10:23:24 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate working with the member on the HUMA committee.
Both of us have some municipal background, and both of us understand the need to consult at the municipal, regional, provincial and federal levels. I believe those consultations have been undertaken. The decisions that were made were as a result of the consultations that were undertaken.
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