44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 13, 2022 11:00AM
- Jun/13/22 2:29:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has repeatedly claimed, “At the recommendation of police, we invoked the Emergencies Act”.
I know he likes to quote RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, so I will try this one on for size. She said, “No, there was never a question of requesting the Emergencies Act”. Clearly, it was not an option considered by police.
Now the minister is saying what he really meant to say is that they consulted with police. His story is changing so often that it is no surprise his deputy minister is saying he was misunderstood. How can Canadians trust this minister?
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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 2:30:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, without parliamentary accountability, Canadians would never know the truth about how the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act. We were led to believe that protesters tried to burn down a building, which was false. We were led to believe that they were being funded with dark money, which was false. We were led to believe that they were planning to violently overthrow the government, which was false. The Minister of Public Safety even claimed that police asked for extraordinary powers to deal with the situation, which was false.
With this much misinformation, it is no wonder Canadians' trust in government is at an all-time low. Will the minister take the first step in rebuilding this trust and apologize for misleading Canadians?
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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 2:31:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety keeps telling us that the government only invoked the Emergencies Act after it was requested by police. We know from testimony that the police never requested the Emergencies Act, just as we know the government has not been transparent on the special forces spy flight over the protest. None of this was necessary.
How does the minister explain away his story being so different from those of senior police officials and his own deputy minister?
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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 2:32:30 p.m.
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I am going to have to interrupt.
I will let the minister start from the top.
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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 2:33:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, according to the government, the special forces spy flight over the Ottawa protest was just training. I wonder where that data went. The minister said the Emergencies Act was justified because of an attempt at arson, which was not so, and because the protest was significantly foreign funded, which was also not so. As well, police never asked for the invocation of the act.
When will the government admit that the Emergencies Act was a power grab overreach to stifle legitimate, democratic dissent?
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- Jun/13/22 2:33:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/13/22 2:34:04 p.m.
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The hon. parliamentary secretary.
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- Jun/13/22 2:34:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we have told this House many times, the flight in question was part of a Canadian Armed Forces training exercise that was planned prior to and unrelated to the convoy protest. This training had nothing to do with the illegal blockade.
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- Jun/13/22 2:34:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Emergencies Act can only be invoked when there is no other law to deal with the situation. It is not clear that this threshold was met. Members of the law enforcement community have said that the threshold was not met, including Chris Lewis, former commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, Ontario's largest police force.
When the public safety minister says that an unnamed police enforcement official made the request to invoke these powers, it is material. I have a very simple question: Who is this unnamed police enforcement official?
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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 2:36:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister did not answer the question.
Suspending civil liberties is serious. That is why the act can only be invoked when there is no law in Canada to deal with the situation. That is why a committee of Parliament and a public inquiry must be established to determine whether or not the threshold for invocation was met.
For the committee and the inquiry to do its work, the government must be honest and forthright with its answers. The minister's answers are anything but. Again, I have a very simple question. The government came to office with a great deal of idealism. Does any remain?
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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 2:37:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, Quebec gave $6.2 million to help Akwesasne patrol its territory 24 hours a day against gun trafficking. Quebec was there, Akwesasne was there, but where was the federal government?
How is it possible that this border is not already monitored on a full-time basis? Borders are a federal responsibility. After a year and a half of non-stop shootings in Montreal, it is infuriating to see that the government has not yet deployed all possible resources.
What is stopping the federal government from addressing the problem of gun trafficking?
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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 2:38:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite everything the minister mentioned, Montreal is coming off another weekend of violence. More shots were fired in Rivière‑des‑Prairies and Villeray.
We still want to know how our neighbourhoods are still being flooded with all these weapons. We still want to know where the federal government is. The federal government is responsible for controlling our borders to ensure that traffickers are stopped before they have the chance to arm criminal groups.
Last year, there was a shooting every two and a half days in Montreal. What is the minister waiting for, a shooting every two hours? When will he take action?
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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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