44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 26, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/26/22 2:31:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the illegal blockades forced borders to close, businesses to shut and workers to be laid off, it was Canadians who paid the biggest price. It was only after we got advice from law enforcement that we invoked the Emergencies Act. It was necessary, and it worked.
We launched a full-scale independent inquiry, appointing Justice Rouleau as commissioner. He has the power to compel witnesses, documents and information, including classified information. We look forward to co-operating with the inquiry to foster transparency and accountability and to incorporating lessons learned so that this never happens again.
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- Apr/26/22 2:32:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Conservatives and Canada’s Civil Liberties Association were disturbed to see that the Liberals are attempting to control the scope of the inquiry into the Emergencies Act by directing the commissioner to focus on the actions of the protesters and not the actions of the government. The purpose of this inquiry is not to hold Canadian protesters accountable, but to hold the government accountable when using extraordinary powers.
The government has tasked the commissioner to gather evidence against the protesters, but this begs the question that, if the government does not already have this evidence, how could it have justified invoking the act in the first place?
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- Apr/26/22 2:32:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to encourage my hon. colleague to read the order in council, which specifically says that the judge can look into the conduct of police enforcement. I encourage my hon. colleague to read the order in council. We want to shine a light on the sober events that led to the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
I would encourage my colleague to recall that businesses were shut down, workers were laid off and residents were terrorized in their own homes. We embrace this inquiry. It is an important hallmark of our democracy, and we look forward to co-operating with the judge.
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- Apr/26/22 2:33:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister finally called a public inquiry to look into the reasons for invoking the Emergencies Act. The public safety minister said, “Our intent is to collaborate with [Justice Rouleau] so that he has a fulsome record, so that he can do his job”.
This is wonderful. We all want the inquiry to get to the bottom of the wrongdoing in this saga. Will the Prime Minister commit to giving the commissioner the power to compel the production of necessary documents and evidence, including those covered by cabinet confidence?
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- Apr/26/22 2:34:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be clear: We are shedding light on the dark series of events that led to the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
I am hoping for closure for those who were laid off and for the Ottawa residents who were held hostage in their own homes, and I would remind the Conservative Party that hundreds of serious charges have been laid that involve guns and conspiracy to commit murder. We will work with the judge to encourage transparency.
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- Apr/26/22 2:34:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we were debating the Emergencies Act, there were 13 points in the order. During that debate in this place, I demolished 12 of those points because there were many things that were not clear.
Today it was announced that Justice Rouleau has been mandated to shed some light on this. Can the minister explain why the mandate is already biased with predetermined questions?
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- Apr/26/22 2:35:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would encourage my colleague to read the orders and the legislation. The guidelines are there. The conditions that apply are there for Justice Rouleau.
We will work with the commissioner to encourage transparency, accountability and integrity. We invoked that law for many reasons, and we must be fair towards all Canadians. The process must be transparent.
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- Apr/26/22 2:35:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians need answers about the government's invocation of the Emergencies Act. The key question is whether the invocation of these extraordinary powers met the legal requirements of the act, a question Justice Rouleau and the public inquiry need to answer. In order to do that, Justice Rouleau needs access to documents covered by cabinet confidence.
Will the Prime Minister, and will the government, waive cabinet confidence?
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- Apr/26/22 2:36:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are prepared to shine a light in co-operation with the judge on the circumstances that led to the invocation of the act.
I would remind my hon. colleagues, particularly from the Conservative Party of Canada, that individuals were arrested as a result of their illegal conduct at borders which shut down businesses, required people to be laid off, and had members of this community right here in Ottawa hostage in their own homes.
We are prepared to go through all of that in co-operation with the judge so there is transparency and accountability in conjunction with this commission.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Apr/26/22 2:36:39 p.m.
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Let us have a little order, so we can hear the answers to the questions and so people visiting us can hear the answers as well.
The hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills.
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- Apr/26/22 2:36:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Emergencies Act is only supposed to be used when there is no other law in Canada able to deal with the situation. It is not clear that threshold was met. When emergency powers are used in a democracy, the question that must be answered is this: “Did the government act lawfully in the invocation of those powers?”
To answer that question, Justice Rouleau needs cabinet documents. Former prime minister Harper waived cabinet confidence in the case of retired vice-admiral Mark Norman and in the case of former senator Mike Duffy. Will the government do the same for this public inquiry?
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- Apr/26/22 2:37:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I would encourage my colleagues to read the order in council, which specifically says that the judge has the independent power to compel witnesses, information and other documents, which indeed includes classified information.
We want to shine a light on the circumstances that led to the invocation of the act. We on this side of the House and other members in this chamber are confident that it was the right thing to do, and it worked. However, in fulfillment of our obligations under the Emergencies Act, we have launched this public inquiry so there can be transparency, accountability and integrity, and so this never happens again.
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- Apr/26/22 2:38:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in his report released this morning, the Commissioner of the Environment revealed that Canada's hydrogen strategy was based on unrealistic hypotheses, which of course compromises Canada's ability to meet its climate targets.
The commissioner is urging Canada to go back to the drawing board. However, the Minister of Environment is using Canada's hydrogen strategy as part of his plan to reduce emissions by 2030. We know that when it comes to hydrogen, his plan is based on unrealistic hypotheses.
Is that the only part of the plan that is based on unrealistic hypotheses?
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- Apr/26/22 2:38:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. I also thank the Commissioner of the Environment for his work.
I have been following the work of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development for more than two decades. This work is certainly very important to our government and should be important to all governments since it helps us to do better.
We want our climate change plan to be one of the best in the world and we want our strategy, including our hydrogen strategy, to be one of the best in the world. We will work on doing exactly that.
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- Apr/26/22 2:39:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to move on to another equally concerning report that came out this week on the environment, this one from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The UN office is projecting that, by 2030, the number of natural disasters per year will reach 560. We are talking about floods, major droughts and extreme temperatures. All of these will increase by 40% in just eight brief years. The UN has called it a spiral of self-destruction.
Did the Minister of Environment consider the increase in natural disasters before approving the Bay du Nord project and its billion barrels of oil?
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- Apr/26/22 2:39:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we take climate change adaptation very seriously, which is why last year we started working with expert panels to design Canada's first national adaptation strategy, which is expected to be adopted this year.
We are working with the provinces and territories, indigenous peoples, municipalities and other stakeholders to develop Canada's first national adaptation strategy.
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- Apr/26/22 2:40:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Earth Day was last Friday.
The Minister of Environment issued a news release for the occasion, saying, and I quote, “Canadians join people around the world to...focus on everything we do to keep our shared home healthy.”
Could the minister explain and share his thought process on how approving Bay du Nord and its billion barrels of oil will keep our shared home healthy?
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- Apr/26/22 2:40:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I suggest that my hon. colleague take a look at the latest official greenhouse gas emissions inventory report, which shows that in 2019, before the pandemic, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions went down, even though oil production increased by 700,000 barrels.
It does not end there. There were 100 measures, $110 billion in investments and a huge number of regulatory measures to make Canada a leader on climate change.
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- Apr/26/22 2:41:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from the Liberal government that brought us a disastrous air passenger bill of rights, which has been panned by consumer groups as completely useless, the government now wants to do a so-called homebuyer bill of rights. Page 47 of the budget says this is under provincial jurisdiction. Could the Minister of Housing please enlighten us as to exactly how the government will protect consumers in a home sale under provincial jurisdiction when it cannot even protect a passenger from a cancelled flight under its own jurisdiction?
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- Apr/26/22 2:42:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has always believed in collaboration with all orders of government to benefit Canadians. The member opposite should know that we have a strong track record on provincial, federal, territorial and municipal collaboration. The news flash is that we now have affordable child care in Canada. That is as a result of collaboration between our government and 10 provinces and three territories.
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