SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 35

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 20, 2022 07:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 35 - Feb/20/22
Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)
  • Feb/20/22 5:49:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate being here in the House debating the very important piece of legislation before us. I want to thank the member who just spoke. I work with her closely in our joint roles as whips, and I really appreciated the very sensitive approach she took in her speech. I also want to say that these are amazing times. I believe we should not be here, yet here we are. I also want to say that today when I was walking to come to work I saw something that really bothered me. I saw a small business owner chasing two men out of his store with a stick, yelling at them. He could not get hold of the police. I am just wondering if the member could talk about the impacts this kind of recklessness is having in this county, when we see this extremism, when we see a blockade for three weeks, when we see people feeling so afraid and we also see the impacts of that activity, which means our social structures start to come undone. If we cannot stand up in this House and talk about how we are going to deal with that, then I do not think we are doing our jobs very well. I would love to hear her thoughtful response, just as thoughtful as her speech was.
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Context: House Hansard - 35 - Feb/20/22
Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)
  • Feb/20/22 7:23:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am wondering if I could get comments from the hon. member. There was a joint column from former Conservative MP Peter MacKay and my dear friend the hon. Senator Vern White. I just want to quote it. It said this: As a rule, let’s affirm that negotiations with those committing illegal acts is a terrible precedent. National security threats, which we are now facing, need to be led by our national security force, the RCMP, through the use of the Emergencies Act, which the federal government invoked Monday. They have the strength, intelligence, methods and capability that no single municipality can muster. I would like to hear the member's comments.
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Context: House Hansard - 35 - Feb/20/22
Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)
  • Feb/20/22 9:04:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member, who is also my neighbour, for his intervention today. When we look outside and see what has happened and talk about extremism, one thing I heard during this time from some members in the House is that there are “a few bad apples”, and this is very concerning to me. We all know that there are a few bad apples in every group, but the point is not the bad apples: It is the people who stand with the bad apples. If we look at our history on this planet, it is when people were quiet, when they minimized what was happening, that really terrible things were the outcome. I wonder if the member could speak to how important it is to stand against things that are extreme and make sure that we are not complicit in things that put us and our democracy in huge trouble.
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Context: House Hansard - 35 - Feb/20/22
Ms. Rachel Blaney
  • Feb/20/22 10:25:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I apologize for interrupting my colleague, but I wanted to make sure that she remembers to share her time with the member for Vancouver Kingsway.
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