44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 20, 2022 07:00AM
- Feb/20/22 2:12:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like my colleague, I rise to speak in a moment when we are called on to do what is right, to choose to defend our democracy and the fabric of our country.
I am the child of immigrants who were part of freedom movements that saw the overthrow of oppressive colonialism in East Africa. Members of my family experienced the violence of a dictatorial xenophobic regime in Uganda that used its powers to harm its citizens. I know all too well what happens when a government overuses its powers.
My family came to Canada to seek safety, prosperity, peace and order. To this day, my family is grateful for the freedoms they have as Canadians, freedoms that they have had and continue to have through the pandemic, freedoms enshrined by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. When they became Canadians, they also accepted the responsibilities that come with citizenship, responsibilities that I have come to realize many of us who were born in this country may have forgotten.
Our citizenship is not just about rights but also about responsibilities. It is our responsibility to protect one another's safety, to stand up in the face of hatred, to make sacrifices for the greater good, sacrifices like the ones Canadians have made throughout the pandemic because they know that is how we take care of each other. It means sacrifices like those being made by health care workers in my riding of Vancouver Granville, who continue to fight hard to keep us safe and healthy in the face of anger and threats.
Let us talk about where we are today. The illegal blockades in Ottawa, in other cities and at our borders is not about Canadian truckers. The vast majority of Canadian truckers are out there doing their jobs, keeping the Canadian economy going. They are, and continue to be, unsung heroes, and we thank them. They are not trying to hold Canadians hostage or encouraging violence against government or costing Canada billions of dollars.
The invocation of the Emergencies Act is in direct response to those who are trying to harm Canadians and the Canadian economy and those who are financing these efforts. It is not a decision for any government to take lightly. It is an instrument of last resort, and one that is subject to and upholds the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Let me be clear: The right to peaceful, lawful protest is a right Canadians have, and it is central to our democracy. We hold this right dearly, and it is one that we defend at all costs. However, that is not what we have been dealing with over the last three weeks. From its first day, this occupation was illegal. It was allowed to go on for 21 days in the hope that it would come to an end. Occupiers were warned repeatedly. They chose to ignore every single request to leave by the federal government, by the province, by the City of Ottawa and by the citizens of Ottawa themselves.
The members of this occupation and the blockades actively chose to weaponize their misguided notions of freedom against our collective national interest, the Canadian economy and indeed Canadians themselves. Choking off cities, blocking off supply chains, shutting down borders and interrupting trade with a deleterious impact on the Canadian economy are not forms of legal protest. The participants in these illegal blockades are not free to take the law into their own hands, which is what they tried to do.
Their actions have negatively impacted the rights of workers to earn a living. They have harmed businesses already hit hard by COVID, and they have obstructed people's right to freely cross the border. These acts are illegal.
That is why the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, asked for federal assistance last week. He said, “But we need to do what it takes to restore law and order in our country. Blocking billions of dollars of trade, putting hundreds of thousands of jobs on the line, and continuing to disrupt the lives of everyday Ontarians cannot continue.”
That is why even Jason Kenney's Conservative government acknowledged, in reference to the Coutts blockade, that local and provincial efforts to clear the blockade had failed. In a letter, Ric McIver, Minister of Municipal Affairs, wrote “In order to ensure a return of free movement of people, vehicles and goods and services...we are seeking federal assistance in removing obstructions from the highway.” He added, “We are looking to the Government of Canada for assistance.”
We cannot and must not make this a partisan issue, yet sadly, the opposition has chosen to do just that. It surprises me that the Conservative Party, the authors of this very act that we have invoked, the party that has claimed to be the party of law and order, that claims to be on the side of law enforcement, is opposed to restoring law and order. Instead, the Conservative Party has stood with, supported—
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- Feb/20/22 2:18:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, instead, members of the opposition have stood with, encouraged, supported and even broken bread with the very people who have terrorized the citizens of Ottawa and threatened the lives of law enforcement officials.
The organizers of this movement have led blockades that have cost the Canadian economy billions of dollars. Many of the organizers are not interested in protecting the rights of Canadians; they are interested in overthrowing a democratically elected government. They have told us this repeatedly, so we must take them at their word. This is precisely why we need the Emergencies Act.
Last week Richard Fadden, the former national security advisor to Stephen Harper and the former director of CSIS, agreed that it was appropriate to invoke the Emergencies Act, particularly referencing the federal banking measures as a clear example of where no other jurisdiction could intervene. He said, “I think it's pretty clear that there have been instances where the provinces, whatever they have done, have not had the necessary constitutional authority to make a difference.”
The invocation of the Emergencies Act was absolutely essential for many reasons, and it allowed the federal government, in partnership with other jurisdictions, to implement a multipronged approach to address this national crisis. Here are some examples.
First, right here in Ottawa, it allowed the City to bring in police forces from outside jurisdictions and authorize them to get to work immediately without the need to be deputized, a process that would have further delayed clearing the occupation. I was particularly proud to see members of the Vancouver Police Department joining their colleagues from across Canada to defend our democracy.
Second, the act allows us to stop the financing of these illegal blockades. Further, it allows the City of Ottawa to seize and sell vehicles used in the illegal blockades and use the proceeds to offset the millions of dollars of losses incurred by the City of Ottawa.
Third, it prohibits the use of certain property, including goods, to support blockades. These are some examples.
While Ottawa has been cleared, thanks to the hard work of our police forces, there is still work to be done to bring this crisis to a conclusion. Like all in the House, I want this act to come to an end quickly, but we all know that there are credible threats that ultra-right-wing extremist forces continue to organize and are redoubling their efforts to disrupt Canadian society, our economy and our freedoms.
An example is what happened in Coutts. Weapons were found, along with body armour, machetes and oversized magazines. There were confirmations that some of those sought to kill RCMP officers if they tried to take down the blockade.
Let us not kid ourselves. This is not about their dislike of a Liberal government or a vaccine mandate, nor is it about freedom. This is about a fundamental opposition to, and a repudiation of, our democratic system of government, which values the voice of every single Canadian, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, identity or religion.
The role of Her Majesty's loyal opposition is to hold the government to account, and it must do this, but it must also remain loyal to Canada and its laws, and indeed to its democracy. In that spirit, I ask all members of the House to reflect on what we want to say to the world. Are we a country where a small, violent minority should be able to disrupt government, attack law enforcement officials with impunity, shut down trade routes and take over our capital for weeks?
I will say to the House that these threats to our pluralistic democracy are real. The Canada that has been built by Liberals, Conservatives, New Democrats and others is at risk. This is not the time to side with the extremists, nor to grant legitimacy to those who seek to undermine our democracy or our values. This is the time for all of us to stand united in our defence of peace, order and good government.
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- Feb/20/22 2:22:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to know that the government has reassured and continues to reassure citizens of this country that law-abiding citizens will not be caught up in some kind of massive dragnet. That is not what these measures are about. In fact, as my hon. friend said earlier, I believe there are 73 bank accounts in total that have been shut down.
The member should rest assured that lawful, law-abiding citizens have nothing to worry about.
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- Feb/20/22 2:23:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague's question is an important one.
On the first point the member raised, the right to demonstrate peacefully and lawfully is enshrined in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That is something that we all hold dear and that we will always defend. This is not meant to obstruct in any way, shape or form peaceful, legal protest.
To the member's second point, in respect to Wellington Street now being clear, as I said in my speech, this is not just about what is happening in Ottawa. This is about making sure that local police forces have the support that they need. It is about making sure that those issues that need to be resolved are resolved so that we can then pull back the use of this act as quickly and as promptly as possible. Like the member opposite, I share her desire for us to bring this to an end as quickly as possible.
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- Feb/20/22 2:25:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was speaking to a friend of mine who is a journalist and who was harassed yesterday by some of these so-called protesters. For the first time in his life, he was actually afraid to do his job.
It is incumbent upon all in the House not to feed the fake news narrative. It is incumbent upon all in the House to protect and preserve the rights of journalists to do their jobs, regardless of whether or not we like what they are saying. We need a free press in this country, and we will always defend the free press.
In respect to financing, I was very proud to bring forward a motion at the public safety and national security committee to look into the funding and the work behind ideologically motivated right wing extremism. This is something that is essential for us to do. I have been working very closely with members of the New Democratic Party do this. I look forward to continue collaborating with them to ensure that we know the sources of the funds behind these movements, so we know where the money is coming from to fund hate in this country. We will work on this together, and it is my hope that we will work on it as members of the House from all parties.
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- Feb/20/22 9:33:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that was an impassioned speech. I have to admit that I am struck by much of what the member said. In the spirit of thinking through some facts, he mentioned that many people were trampled.
Mr. Philip Lawrence: Mr. Speaker, I did not. I said two.
Mr. Taleeb Noormohamed: Mr. Speaker, two people were trampled. News reports say the reporter actually admitted that there was, in fact, no trampling. I just want to make sure we clarify the facts in the House.
I would ask the following question. The other side does not trust the government. Would the members trust the national security adviser to Stephen Harper, and the former director of CSIS, Richard Fadden? He said that it was appropriate to invoke the Emergencies Act, particularly as it related to the federal banking measures, which were not covered under other legislation.
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- Feb/20/22 11:49:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have heard a lot from the hon. member about common sense and doing what is best for Canadians, and I would love her comment on whether it was common sense for the interim leader of the Conservative Party to be photographed wearing MAGA hats, to talk about making the convoy the Prime Minister's problem and to say we should not be asking them go home. I wonder if she thinks that is common sense.
Speaking of common sense, I will ask the same question I asked earlier. Given that she does not trust the government, would she trust the national security adviser to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who said that it was not only appropriate but necessary for the government to invoke the Emergencies Act, particularly as it relates to the very concerns around financing of this convoy that she seems to want us not to consider?
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