44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 21, 2022 07:00AM
- Feb/21/22 7:18:09 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, right now, Ottawa businesses are allowed to reopen. The Conservatives and Bloc members have been saying that the situation in Windsor with the Ambassador Bridge and the corridor is fine, but I can assure members that even last night and this morning, as I drove along the corridor I saw that the jersey barricades we have are still blocking businesses.
I would like the hon. member to reflect on the fact that he could not find a place to eat last night, but still, ironically, Windsor businesses, health care services and other types of emergency vehicles are continue to be blocked because of the actions and the consequences.
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- Feb/21/22 7:20:21 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I emphasized during my comments, it was very vital that action was taken so that not just our neighbours and communities here in Ottawa, but our country could move forward, with certainty and confidence in communities that have already been impacted, like Windsor, as my colleague was referring to, and others, because people's livelihoods and businesses are at stake. As a former entrepreneur and business owner, I cannot imagine what that experience has been like for those whose livelihoods and dreams have been impacted. Again, that is why I support the targeted, measured, time-limited use of the Emergencies Act.
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- Feb/21/22 8:05:53 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, obviously nobody ever deserves to have a bomb threat to their house for simply trying to stand up and do their job. The mayor is doing what he can to best serve his constituents.
Part of the question was about things not being okay. The member is right that things are not okay. People all across this country have felt disrespected for far too long. They have felt like they have been vilified and divided on purpose, for only political gain.
Constructive dialogue needs to happen. The Prime Minister had a role to play. If the Prime Minister had done his job, I feel that the tensions would not be where they are down in Windsor West and the surrounding ridings. For things to have gotten to a point that somebody has done something so unfathomable and unthinkable as to offer up a bomb threat is ridiculous.
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- Feb/21/22 8:48:10 a.m.
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We have time for a brief question.
The hon. member for Windsor West.
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- Feb/21/22 8:49:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and for his hard work in the Windsor area over the past several years.
He is absolutely right. Windsor area residents and businesses need support. We will follow up.
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- Feb/21/22 9:41:34 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have been raising the issue of the Ambassador Bridge. The blockade there required extensive supports, and city of Windsor residents are on the hook for those right now.
Currently, the blockade has been moved to cut off city streets, including a 300-year-old Francophonie community that has been very important for this area. It is also impoverished. Lastly, the Ambassador Bridge is owned by a private American billionaire, who now gets the benefit of the barricades funnelling all the traffic to his coffers.
I would like the hon. member to understand and reflect on this. Who should be paying for this? Is it the city of Windsor's residents and the Francophonie culture here, or should it be the provincial and federal governments? Right now we are on the hook.
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- Feb/21/22 12:41:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member is right. This a concern that municipal and provincial jurisdictions did not have the capacity to take action. Municipal governments, for 18 days at Coutts and six on the Ambassador Bridge, just did not have the resources to act, and that is why our government stepped up. It is about the actions that could transpire in Windsor and also impact the province of Quebec and other parts of Ontario. We need to support local municipalities and provinces, as asked and where needed.
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- Feb/21/22 12:56:29 p.m.
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Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji.
This is more than just about the Prime Minister for me. This is about protecting our democracy. That is what we need to be voting on. We have to make sure that residents like the people in the riding of the member for Windsor West continue to be protected. We keep hearing they are still feeling the impacts of the extremist views that have penetrated our Canadian democracy.
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- Feb/21/22 2:28:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the occupation in Ottawa and the blockades of bridges and borders across Canada have had a severe impact on workers. We know that workers in Windsor, auto sector workers and workers in the downtown core of Ottawa, like those at the Rideau Centre and others, were severely impacted. They lost days and in some cases weeks of wages, which has made it even harder for them to put food on the table.
The government has announced a plan to support small businesses, but not a plan for workers. Where is the plan to support the workers who have been impacted by the occupation and the blockades?
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- Feb/21/22 3:07:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Windsor West for his advocacy and hard work in representing his constituents. We have maintained very open lines of communication during the illegal blockades. The member highlights why it is that the Emergencies Act continues to be necessary given the risks in Windsor, Coutts and other ports of entry, such as Surrey.
We are going to work very closely with my hon. colleague, the hon. colleague for Windsor—Tecumseh and the mayor of Windsor to ensure that small businesses have all the supports they need so we can get the economy going again. Notwithstanding the challenges of the illegal blockades, this government will be there for those impacted by them.
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- Feb/21/22 4:07:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, if I were a senior member of the NDP, such as the MP for Windsor West, I would be ashamed that my leader threw the local police under the bus, as he did in the House last Thursday. I would be doubly ashamed if my leader whipped my vote on the Emergencies Act.
Once again, the NDP are poised to prop up the Prime Minister so as to not hold the Prime Minister to account. The very fact that the standoffs at the Windsor-Detroit and Coutts borders were ended peacefully, clearly demonstrates that the Emergency Act was, quite frankly, unnecessary.
I am wondering if the member would agree that the greatest emergency in Canada today is that the NDP continues to prop up this power-hungry Liberal government and today will vote with the Liberals to allow—
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