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House Hansard - 72

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 16, 2022 11:00AM
  • May/16/22 2:43:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has claimed numerous times that he invoked the Emergencies Act after a recommendation to do so by law enforcement. Last week, RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki told committee that, “There was never a question of requesting the Emergencies Act,” and that she could think of no other law enforcement body requesting it, either. Can the minister tell Canadians what law enforcement asked him to invoke the Emergencies Act?
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  • May/16/22 2:44:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me clarify again for my hon. colleague what the commissioner said. She said: ...what I can say is that the Emergencies Act did give us the tools that we needed...to get the job done quickly. She said: I can tell you from an RCMP perspective, for example, that we were in the midst of trying to enforce at Coutts and we could not enforce, because we couldn't access any tow trucks. Those are just two very clear statements from the RCMP commissioner who explained how the Emergencies Act helped to restore public safety.
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  • May/16/22 2:44:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that still does not answer the question. The RCMP commissioner may have said it was necessary, but she clearly refuted what the minister's claim was, which was that they had recommended it. On May 2, the Minister of Public Safety stated in the House, “At the recommendation of police, we invoked the Emergencies Act”. On April 28, he further stated, “It was on the advice of law enforcement that we invoked the Emergencies Act.” Can the minister back up these statements by answering my question, or will he admit that these statements were false?
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  • May/16/22 2:45:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am just finally glad that on Monday, May 16, my hon. colleague from the Conservative Party admitted that the RCMP commissioner's testimony was that the Emergencies Act was necessary in his own words. It finally happened. We have been waiting months for that admission. We invoked the Emergencies Act to protect Canadians. We invoked it and we will continue to participate now in the review exercise in a way that is transparent.
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  • May/16/22 2:46:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to the illegal protest in Ottawa, the Minister of Public Safety said on May 2, “At the recommendation of police, we invoked the Emergencies Act”. Last week, the RCMP commissioner said in committee that there was never a question of requesting the Emergencies Act. The question is very simple: Who is telling the truth? Is it the minister or the RCMP commissioner? Personally, I have a lot more confidence in the RCMP commissioner.
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  • May/16/22 2:46:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have already mentioned a few times, the commissioner said during her testimony that there were provisions in the Emergencies Act that acted as motivators and as deterrents for people to return. What I can say is that the Emergencies Act gave us the tools we needed to get the job done quickly. Today, Monday, May 16, the Conservatives finally recognized that.
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