44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 20, 2022 07:00AM
- Feb/20/22 11:11:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my newly elected colleague, the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, for sharing his time with me this evening.
I am pleased to rise in the House this evening.
My riding of Acadie—Bathurst is one of the most beautiful places in our country. The people there are extremely welcoming and generous. My riding is home to many generations of families from different cultures who stuck together in good times and bad. My community would simply not exist were it not for a long history of families helping each other.
I am very sad to see what has been happening in our country over the past few weeks where people are turning their backs on each other. That is not the Canada I know and love.
I understand that many Canadians are frustrated and angry. I, too, am tired of this pandemic. I also understand that, as an MP, it is my responsibility to listen to people and find ways to help them. Unfortunately, some people who want to make their voices heard also chose to draw the country's attention by behaving in an extremely worrisome way.
I have some personal experience with protests because the people in my riding of Acadie—Bathurst have always made themselves heard loud and clear, and they are not afraid to protest. In particular, they protested in support of civil rights and language rights. In 2013, they protested reforms the Conservatives made to employment insurance. Protests are a fundamental and important part of a democratic country. I always supported the right of people to protest peacefully, even in front of my office, and I have participated in several protests before and since I was elected.
That said, I will never support bullying, threats, physical altercations, damage to private property, theft, hate symbols or desecration of our cherished monuments. There also seems to be a misunderstanding going around that citizens have the right to bring semi trucks to a protest and to block streets for three weeks. Nowhere in the Charter does it say that is a right.
When the goal of a group is no longer to make its voice heard but rather to intentionally hurt people or damage infrastructure, it is no longer a protest: it is an occupation and an attack on our democracy. I makes me so sad to see these blockades happening in front of children, and even more so when I see children being used strategically to advance causes they cannot understand at their age. I sincerely hope that people taking part in these blockades will reconsider their behaviour and strive to set better and more positive examples for our younger generation, for the sake of our democracy.
Being a law-abiding citizen is the most fundamental responsibility of Canadians. We know that many of the people who are protesting have legitimate concerns, that they are worried about their future and their livelihoods. However, what is frustrating is that their concerns would be alleviated if they could simply trust the science.
In Canada we have been lucky to have world-class doctors and scientists guiding us through this pandemic. Thousands of scientists all around the world have devoted their lives to protecting and saving the lives of others. Never before have human beings been so scientifically advanced. Let me say clearly, slowly and surely for all Canadians to hear that vaccines work. It has been nearly two years since we were plunged into this COVID‑19 pandemic and I will be eternally grateful to those who developed these miraculous and effective vaccines. Thanks to them, countless lives have been saved, as will countless more in the future.
I will get back to the subject at hand. Some of the protesters are indeed worried about the vaccine mandates, masks and lockdowns. However, other elements of these protests are deeply rooted in far-right ideologies and have dangerous ties to organized crime. What is more, the foreign presence that is evident through donations is very worrisome. Whatever the motivations of the people participating in these protests, we cannot allow them to continue disrupting the peace and the lives of peaceful citizens. Every Canadian deserves to live in peace.
For three weeks, we have seen municipal and provincial leaders raising their hands and asking for help. I am proud that our government has been working in partnership with them from the early days the protest, and I believe that we were taken up on our offer of assistance with all of these measures.
One thing is clear: These blockades need to be removed. Canadians are worried and they need us to show strong leadership. Over the past few days, other Canadians and I have listened to many speeches. We have all watched the news and participated in thorough discussions about the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
Many members of our party talked at length about why using the Emergencies Act is justified and presented solid arguments in support. Some opposition members and other Canadians have severely criticized that decision. They are saying that the decision to invoke the act is extremely excessive.
Personally, I find it difficult to accept the argument that this is an unnecessary use or blatant misuse of government powers. As the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice have said many times, these measures will be used with great restraint and they are both time limited and geographically targeted. The fact is that we have exhausted all of the other options. I am convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the current circumstances meet the threshold required by the act to declare a national emergency.
Let us focus for a moment on what is happening in Ottawa.
From the first day that the convoy arrived on Parliament Hill, the Ottawa police service was unprepared to deal with the situation. I am not levelling an accusation, and I cannot speak to the resources that the police did or did not have. I can only speak to what I saw and what everyone saw, namely, that the Ottawa police was not going to be able to resolve this situation without support.
This evening, I had the opportunity to rise in the House knowing what had unfolded in recent days, while a major police operation was under way.
I believe that most of my colleagues will agree with me that the police operation in downtown Ottawa on the weekend was a success. There are fewer trucks, fewer protesters, fewer blocked streets and fewer reports of intimidation and violence.
We now have tangible evidence that the powers conferred by the Emergencies Act have had a considerable impact. These measures led to action that would not have been possible otherwise. The interim chief of the Ottawa Police Service, Mr. Bell, stated that the scale and scope of this weekend's operation would not have been possible without the declaration of emergency.
In conclusion, the Emergencies Act has enabled the federal government to provide tools to the Ottawa Police Service, when and where they were needed. It has also provided the Ottawa Police Service with the necessary tools to stop the flow of money that is supporting illegal activities. It has enabled municipalities to fill gaps, such as using tow trucks to remove illegally parked vehicles. It has also helped put an end to grey areas around jurisdictions and to clarify responsibilities at complex but important sites such as border crossings.
I want to be clear that while our government had to make this choice; it should not be seen as a celebration. However, I feel much more at peace knowing that many people are feeling some relief from the decision to use these measures.
We saw how Canadians reacted to the police operations that took place in Ottawa over the weekend. In my opinion, Canadians very clearly support the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.
I would like to address everyone who is listening to us by saying that although we may not all share the same values, we can have empathy for each other.
The pandemic has taken its toll, and we are all very much looking forward to putting it behind us. Unfortunately, the events of the past few weeks were not the right way to end it. The protests have taken up valuable resources and time that were badly needed elsewhere to deal with the pandemic.
I will close with this. Some joined the convoy with the goal of promoting peace and freedom. Unfortunately, the target was not the right one, and their actions had the opposite effect. The convoy was pointless and caused a disturbance in the freest of countries, our Canada.
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- Feb/20/22 11:22:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
The Bloc Québécois is always the one talking about respecting provincial, municipal or other jurisdictions.
Since this convoy began, some municipalities and even the police forces in Ottawa have unfortunately been unable to carry out certain operations and deal with the situation. That is why, as a last resort, we want to move forward with applying the Emergencies Act.
We gave the Ottawa Police Service and the other police forces the resources they needed to put an end to the convoy, remove all of the trucks, restore peace in downtown Ottawa and give some relief to the residents who endured three long weeks of noise and unnecessary turbulence in downtown Ottawa.
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- Feb/20/22 11:24:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we were keeping a close eye on the situation.
After three weeks, during which many protests took place on Parliament Hill, it was time for the government to intervene. We gave all police forces the tools they needed to put an end to this convoy once and for all.
I am pleased that my colleague is saying that the charter provisions will be respected and that the act will be used with great restraint. It will be time limited and target the geographic areas where it is needed.
I think that people are tired of these protests, and we want to provide law enforcement with all of the tools and powers needed to put an end to these protests.
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- Feb/20/22 11:26:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will say it again so that all Canadians can hear me. The charter provisions will be respected and the act will be used with great restraint. Its use will be time limited and will target the geographic areas—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès): Order. Resuming debate.
The hon. member for Langley—Aldergrove.
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