44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 13, 2022 11:00AM
- Jun/13/22 2:19:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we invoked the Emergencies Act to keep Canadians safe. It was the right thing to do. Commissioner Lucki herself testified that the Emergencies Act gave them the tools they needed to get the job done fast.
Let us be clear. The government decided to invoke the Emergencies Act. That decision was informed by advice we got. We consulted police forces on various issues, including, as Commissioner Lucki said, on the powers in the Emergencies Act that were necessary.
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- Jun/13/22 2:21:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House fully understand what is needed to protect the health and safety of Canadians, which is precisely why we invoked the Emergencies Act.
I want to know when the Conservatives are going to offer to cover the expenses for all the disruption that encouraged the illegal blockade during the protests. It was terrible.
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- Jun/13/22 2:22:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to come to that, but before I do, I want to call out the hon. member for using Mr. Putin in this chamber regarding the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. It debases this place, it debases what is going on in Ukraine and it is absolutely wrong. He should be admonished for it. He should take back that comment. That is not what this chamber stands for.
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- Jun/13/22 2:23:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to be absolutely clear that we invoked the Emergencies Act because it was necessary to protect the health and safety of Canadians. As we heard from Commissioner Lucki herself during her testimony before the committee, the Emergencies Act was necessary.
I wonder when the Conservatives are going to finally offer their sincere apologies to the residents of Ottawa, who, during the protest, were encouraged to stay by the interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. It was wrong, wrong, wrong.
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- Jun/13/22 2:29:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a prime example of cherry-picking from the commissioner's testimony. If he went on to read, he would see that the commissioner said, in her own words, that the Emergencies Act was needed to restore public safety.
While he continues to bury his head in the sand on the material facts, and while he continues to bury his head on the conduct of the interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, who egged on the illegal blockades long after they became a threat to public safety, we were working 24-7 with law enforcement to restore public safety. We will never apologize for that.
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- Jun/13/22 2:31:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member talks about parliamentary accountability. I wonder whether it is true or false that it was parliamentarily reckless to say the following in the middle of the illegal occupation.
In an email sent from the interim Conservative Party leader to her caucus, “I don't think we should be asking them to go home. I understand the mood may shift soon. So we need to turn this into the PM's problem.” In other words, that would be a political problem. True or false, was that parliamentarily responsible? I do not think so.
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- Jun/13/22 2:32:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during the illegal occupation and blockades of last winter, we saw Canadians put out of work. We saw families unable to take their children to school. We saw seniors unable to get around as a result of the illegal blockades—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/13/22 2:32:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, in the middle of the illegal occupation, we saw Canadians put out of work. We saw families who were unable to take their kids to child care. We saw the entire town of Ottawa under siege. That is why we invoked the Emergencies Act. Of course we consulted. Of course we sought the advice of police and law enforcement because we understood that was the best way to inform that decision.
I wonder why the Conservative Party does not just stand up and accept its share of the responsibility for prolonging that illegal occupation as a result of the reckless abandon that it showed throughout?
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- Jun/13/22 2:35:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member wants to quote law enforcement. Let me cite from the letter from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, which characterized the illegal blockades, and I am saying it right here from the language, were “unprecedented demonstrations, protests, occupations, and acts of civil disobedience”. In other words, they were the likes of which we have never seen before.
I will again quote from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, which said, “The Emergency Economic Measures Order is critical to assisting law enforcement in addressing the mass national and international organization of the Freedom Convoy 2022.” How is that for law enforcement?
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- Jun/13/22 2:36:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is no more paramount ideal than protecting Canadians' safety, and that is why we invoked the Emergencies Act.
We will always stand up for that decision. We will never apologize for doing what was necessary to protect Canadians who were besieged by, in the words of the most senior officials of law enforcement in this country, “unprecedented...acts of civil disobedience”.
Of course we will co-operate with the parliamentary committee. Of course we will co-operate with Judge Rouleau. That too is an ideal. I wonder when his party will accept its share of the responsibility for contributing to that illegal occupation.
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- Jun/13/22 2:38:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and his leadership.
I share his concerns about the firearms file. That is exactly why we are continuing to work closely with the Government of Quebec, indigenous peoples and Akwesasne and to provide additional resources to stop the illegal trafficking of firearms at the border. We will continue to work with them to protect our communities.
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- Jun/13/22 2:39:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will work 24/7 to protect our communities, and that includes controlling the border to stop the illegal gun trade.
That is precisely why we have already transferred $46 million to the Quebec government. That is precisely why we are in a renewal process with our indigenous communities to protect our communities.
Bill C-21 is currently before the House. I hope that the Bloc Québécois will support this very important bill to protect our communities.
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- Jun/13/22 2:40:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague that the situation at the border is worrisome. That is why we will continue to give the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP more resources at the border.
We are making progress. Last year, we seized a record number of guns. However, I agree that more needs to be done. That is why I hope that the Bloc Québécois will support Bill C-21.
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- Jun/13/22 2:42:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The Emergencies Act restored public safety and we will never apologize for doing what was necessary to protect Canadians.
We did it for everyone who wanted to get to work or take their kids to day care. We invoked the act for those Canadians who unwillingly found themselves in the middle of this occupation.
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- Jun/13/22 2:43:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, we invoked the Emergencies Act to protect Canadians. It was a necessary decision, which is exactly what the RCMP commissioner told the committee.
I would also like to ask my colleague when the Conservatives are going to offer to reimburse the communities here in Ottawa for the expenses incurred, given that his party bears some responsibility after the interim leader of the Conservative Party encouraged the blockade and illegal occupation. That was wrong, and the Conservatives should offer to reimburse the costs.
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- Jun/13/22 2:44:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House have sent a clear message that it was a necessary decision.
Yes, we consulted police forces before invoking that act. Yes, we sought the advice of police forces before invoking the act. We will continue to work closely with police forces to protect our communities.
The Conservatives actually encouraged the illegal blockade. That was very wrong, and they need to offer to reimburse the residents of Ottawa and people across the country for their expenses.
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- Jun/13/22 2:49:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question allows me to highlight again that Commissioner Lucki testified before committee that there was a problem procuring tow trucks in the midst of the illegal occupation, which is one of the reasons why we included that power in the Emergencies Act. We sought that advice prior to its invocation. We took the decision informed by our consultations, and we did it because it was necessary. We will never apologize for doing what is necessary to protect the health and safety of all Canadians.
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- Jun/13/22 2:50:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague well knows, and as I have said on a number of occasions, we invoked the Emergencies Act because it was necessary. We consulted with law enforcement. We sought their advice prior to its invocation, and that advice obviously informed the decision to invoke. We did it because Canadians were hurting and because, as they were trying to get to work and trying to go about their daily lives, Conservatives were encouraging them to stay. That was wrong.
Just once, it would be nice to hear Conservatives stand up and apologize for their improper, reckless role in extending the illegal blockades. While they were undermining public safety, we were defending it.
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- Jun/13/22 2:51:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians will trust a government that will do what is necessary to protect their health and safety. Members can contrast what we did, which was to invoke the Emergencies Act only after it was clear that existing authorities were ineffective at restoring public safety, with the role of the Conservatives, who encouraged and egged the protesters on, who were taking selfies with them, who were doing whatever it took to make it a political problem for the Prime Minister. That was wrong. They should know better.
Canadians will never forget the role that Conservatives played during the illegal blockades, but they will remember what we did, which was to protect them.
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- Jun/13/22 2:53:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague sets a very high threshold for openness and transparency. When is he going to shine a light on the statements that were made by his interim leader during the illegal occupation, who wanted to make it a political problem, while frontline officers were trying to restore public safety? That party—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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