44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 21, 2022 07:00AM
- Feb/21/22 3:03:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since the outset, we have been very transparent with Canadians about the reasons why we have invoked the Emergencies Act. There has been a very vigorous debate in this chamber about why, in the government's view, we meet the test under the Emergencies Act.
I assure my hon. colleague that all of the powers that are being exercised in it are being done in a responsible, measured and proportionate manner that is consistent with existing provincial and municipal authorities, and we will sunset the Emergencies Act as soon as we can. In the meantime, we will work with law enforcement to restore public order and public safety.
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- Feb/21/22 3:04:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was a legislative assistant here in the 1980s. I knew the legendary NDP co-founder Stanley Knowles, who was elected 13 times as the member for Winnipeg North Centre.
In the 1970 debate invoking the war measures act, Mr. Knowles said, “we have to work very hard to show that in our kind of society we still think there is a better way...to deal with ideas that we do not [agree with].”
Why did the NDP coalition not listen to the sage words of Mr. Knowles before implementing the act?
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- Feb/21/22 3:04:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, although I appreciate the member's newfound New Democratic viewpoints, let me say this: The Emergencies Act is not the war measures act. A Progressive Conservative government, back when the Conservatives called themselves progressives, brought in this legislation, which was charter compliant and respected the rights of all citizens and every freedom contained within the charter.
It is a carefully crafted law, a law that we have complied with throughout. In articulating our reasons for bringing this forward, I think even Mr. Knowles would recognize that what has been happening on our streets and at our borders constitutes an emergency that required—
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- Feb/21/22 3:05:31 p.m.
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The hon. member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle.
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- Feb/21/22 3:05:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, by invoking the Emergencies Act, this government has ensured that law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to dismantle illegal blockades and clear the occupation. We heard directly from experts and law enforcement agencies how these tools were used to do exactly that.
Can the minister update the House on how the financial measures continue to play a vital role in putting an end to the illegal protests and letting Canadians get back to their normal lives?
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- Feb/21/22 3:06:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and all her hard work.
Over the past few days, we have seen significant progress in Ottawa and at our borders. Downtown Ottawa is free of blockades, and our borders are open. I want to thank the RCMP and all police forces for their good work.
All the measures mentioned in the Emergencies Act are very practical, very targeted and temporary. They were all implemented in accordance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The government will sunset the Emergencies Act as soon as possible.
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- Feb/21/22 3:06:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Ambassador Bridge blockade cost over $1 billion in economic losses. The bridge is now open, but new barricades are blocking local business. We have cancellations of doctor and health appointments and continued job losses. Since the Emergencies Act started, further convoys have been turned back and resources have been invested to protect this national route, even when we just recently faced a bomb threat.
The government has offered support for Ottawa businesses affected by the occupation, and that is good. Will this government ensure that it is helping all the border municipalities and the workers who were harmed by the convoy crisis, because it still carries on?
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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 3:08:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as hon. colleagues will know, from the beginning I have been very concerned that the regulations appear overly broad and not connected to the declaration itself. I want to ask the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada if he is satisfied, and if he can satisfy me, that the declaration is tied to these regulations, and that they cannot be used for anything other than for the specific emergency as described in the declaration.
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- Feb/21/22 3:08:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the way in which the regulations for orders are based in the declaration, as well as the way in which they are written, clearly indicate that they flow from the declaration. Therefore, I can assure the hon. member, and I can assure Canadians, that the regulations for orders can only be used for combatting this particular emergency and no other situation.
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- Feb/21/22 3:09:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to standing Order 32(2), I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, the 2020-21 annual report for the green municipal fund, “Forward Together”.
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- Feb/21/22 3:10:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
The committee advised that, pursuant to Standing Order 91.1(2), the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business met to consider the items added to the order of precedence on February 9 and February 11, 2022, as well as the orders for the second reading of private members' public bills originating in the Senate, and recommended that the items listed herein, which it has determined should not be designated not votable, be considered by the House.
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- Feb/21/22 3:10:53 p.m.
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Pursuant to Standing Order 91.1(2), the report is deemed adopted.
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- Feb/21/22 3:11:16 p.m.
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No opportunity wasted, Mr. Speaker, I have a petition.
This petition is on behalf of very concerned and increasingly desperate citizens of Ottawa who are concerned that 750 mature canopy trees at Queen Juliana Park in this city will be destroyed and removed to put in a parking lot, and that the National Capital Commission's recommendation to use a different location for the much-needed expansion of the new Ottawa Hospital, which they recommended should go to Tunney's Pasture, was reversed without proper process.
The petitioners specifically and concisely call to restore the National Capital Commission's initial recommendation, to preserve Queen Juliana Park and the entire Central Experimental Farm as green spaces, and in this pandemic we know how much we need to get outdoors and into green spaces, and to support the panel's request for a public inquiry.
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- Feb/21/22 3:12:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.
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- Feb/21/22 3:12:32 p.m.
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Is that agreed?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
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- Feb/21/22 3:12:38 p.m.
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The hon. member for Huron—Bruce has six minutes remaining in his speech.
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- Feb/21/22 3:12:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when I left off I was talking about 2010 and the G20. No situation is the same and we all know that, but if we go back to that time, the protest lasted over a week. There were 1,100 people arrested and there was a lot of destruction. Those of us who are old enough can remember that.
In my point before, I was not knocking the former chief of police, who is now the Minister of Emergency Preparedness. I was just stating the fact that he was the chief. When the member for Oxford and I were on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, he appeared there and explained all the intricacies of the operation and all the dealings they had. My point was that he does not say now that they should have used it. He never said once that in reflection he should have used it. That time, using those images and what was going on, would be a lot closer to the test than what we are dealing with here. I think that is what the member for Oxford was saying as well.
There was an issue here in Ottawa about a year and a half ago on Elgin Street right in front of the police station. Again, I am not saying every situation is the same. I am not saying that. Each one is different and has different levels of risk, but it is an example of where the lower part of Elgin Street was shut down by over 100 protesters who were very inspired by what they were protesting. It was a multi-day shutdown of Elgin. At no time did the mayor of Ottawa or the police chief go to the government and say that they needed to bring this act in to shut those people down. Whether people think it is right or wrong, they went in at three in the morning on a Saturday and dealt with the blockade.
There have been protests and blockades around this country all the time since this act was enacted in the eighties, and it has never been used. We heard all sorts of examples of this. That is why I think it is so important for the City of Ottawa to do an inquiry. It has 1,500 uniformed men and women and over 600 civilians employed within the police service. They are good people.
At the leadership level, at the city level, something went wrong. They knew for weeks the truckers were coming here. They knew for weeks that trucks were coming. I had calls from people saying there was going to be 10,000 trucks here and asking what the city was going to do. The leadership would have had way more intel than I obviously would have had.
Again, I am not criticizing the city or the mayor, I am just asking what they did. We do not know. That is why they need to have an inquiry. The committee is fine, but there also needs to be something a little more in-depth than that, and possibly an inquiry at the federal level as well to figure out why this was done and where the breakdown happened.
We heard about the Ambassador Bridge at length, and it was cleared. The Blue Water Bridge was cleared. It was a multi-jurisdictional unit that worked at it with the Windsor Police Service, the OPP and the RCMP. The OPP, the RCMP, the police services in the cities and the regional police, like Peel, Durham and York, work together all the time. It is not some bureaucratic nightmare like some of the Liberal members of Parliament talk about. They work together all the time.
The other thing I would like to talk about, and it was brought up in question period and many other times, has to do with the charter, specifically the seizure and freezing of bank accounts and whether that happened or not. We have to be honest, the Minister of Finance has been very unclear. Even in question period today, Liberals used very smart words. They say things like “the RCMP never”, but if we look at the act, the power is given to the banks.
These ministers are picking their words very carefully. That is where I think they really crossed the line with Canadians. It is scary to think someone might be getting their bank account frozen and may be targeted. This is an overreach. When it is all over and done with, there could be some lawsuits and payouts because there was an overreach. If we look at the G20, there was over $15 million paid out.
The other thing I will say is that there has been a tremendous focus on this issue. Ukraine and Russia have been a tremendous focus, but the biggest thing the Liberals do not want to focus on are the issues with the economy, the issues around people's pay cheques, the inflation around how much it costs to live. Every time we fill our cars, it is $1.55 or $1.60 a litre. These are things the Liberals are desperate not to talk about. They will talk about everything else but that.
The sooner we can, let us get beyond this, lift the mandates, unite this country and get back to being one of the best. I look forward to that and I am sure most members of Parliament look forward to that as well.
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- Feb/21/22 3:18:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of the convoy, the organizers were very clear. They said it was about overthrowing the government by staying in Ottawa until all the mandates had been lifted. That was the organizational group and the types of things they were telling Canadians.
I understand that there are possibly dozens of Conservative members of Parliament who have donated to this convoy cause. I am wondering if the member would agree that donating to those sorts of stated objectives might be somewhat of a conflict. Is that maybe why the Conservatives do not want to vote for the Emergencies Act? Would it be self-serving? Are these not questions that need to be answered and maybe should be a part of the inquiry and what happens afterwards?
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- Feb/21/22 3:19:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, because Adam Vaughan tweets it, it does not make it true. If the member wants to go outside that door and read those names off, I am sure there will be many lawyers calling him this week. I guarantee that.
The other thing I will say to that member, who I have known a long time, is that, if he knew, what did he do four weeks ago? Nothing. What did the Minister of Public Safety do? Nothing. What did the Minister of Justice do? Nothing. What did the mayor of Ottawa do? Nothing. They welcomed them in on a red carpet, so we do not need any of your lectures.
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