44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 13, 2022 11:00AM
- Jun/13/22 2:41:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety seems to have a new nickname: Pinocchio. In recent months, he told the House something that is absolutely false. He said, “It was on the advice of law enforcement that we invoked the Emergencies Act.”
However, federal and municipal law enforcement agencies have confirmed that they never made any such recommendations. Now, the minister is saying any old thing in hopes that Canadians will forget all about this. Did the minister act on his own initiative, or was he following the Prime Minister's orders?
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- Jun/13/22 2:41:37 p.m.
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I would like to remind the member that we cannot do indirectly what we cannot do directly. As I said before, when members do things indirectly that are not really acceptable, it leads to trouble. If someone is getting called out, it is justified.
The hon. Minister of Public Safety.
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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 2:42:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it seems the minister has memory issues because on April 28, 2022, he said, “I remember my hon. colleague and I having an exchange during the debate of the invocation of the Emergencies Act, which was only put forward after police officials told us they needed this special power to ensure they could restore public safety.”
The RCMP says it never made such a request. The Minister of Public Safety deliberately misled Canadians. Was he following the Prime Minister's orders to avoid losing his cabinet position?
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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 2:43:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us continue with the history lesson. On May 2, the Minister of Public Safety said that the government invoked the Emergencies Act on the recommendation of the police. I congratulate him.
During the parliamentary committee hearings, he said that it was the RCMP that requested it because they needed that tool to do their job. The minister has repeated this many times in recent months.
Now, to add insult to injury, he has the audacity to say that the whole thing is a simple misunderstanding. When will the Minister of Public Safety admit the truth?
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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 2:44:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the foreign affairs minister blamed Global Affairs staff for attending a party at the Russian embassy. She will not even admit whether she knew if they were going. The government is failing on sanctions and on immigration, and is now literally attending parties at the Russian embassy. There is a genocide happening in Ukraine. This is a pattern of behaviour that is not helping Ukrainians.
Instead of apologizing after the fact, why did the minister not tell her staff not to attend events at the Russian embassy?
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- Jun/13/22 2:45:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague, and I am as mad as she is, because this should never have happened. Of course, this will not happen again. I am the minister and the buck stops here, but what I can tell members is that we have been showing leadership on the question of Ukraine. Our intent has been the same since before February 24. We need to make sure to send a strong message to Vladimir Putin's regime. We need to suffocate it diplomatically, economically and politically.
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- Jun/13/22 2:46:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for nearly seven years New Democrats have been calling for the creation of a clear path to safety for LGBTQI+ refugees whose lives are at imminent risk. Currently, Rainbow Railroad has identified and fully verified 300 Afghans at high risk of immediate life-threatening violence simply for being who they are. Despite the failure of the Liberals to create a path to safety in Canada for queer refugees at risk, Canada can help rescue these Afghan refugees right now.
Will the government immediately partner with Rainbow Railroad to evacuate and resettle these 300 high-risk LGBTQI+ Afghans?
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- Jun/13/22 2:46:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our doors are always open for people who identify as LGBTQ escaping from violence and persecution in their country. We work closely with organizations such as the Rainbow Refugee society, the UNHCR and others to help sponsor LGBTQ refugees from abroad. We are supporting at least 55 service providers to make them feel at home. We have a role to play to make sure LGBTQ people feel safe and supported, so they can participate fully in society.
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- Jun/13/22 2:47:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the past two years have shown us the importance of reliable high-speed Internet for everything from work to school, the digital economy, connecting with loved ones and much more. The importance of rural connectivity was recently highlighted as an economic driver in the five-year economic plan outlined by the Partnership for Growth of Prince Edward Island. It is a group that represents over 200 island businesses. Our government has made $7.2 billion available to achieve the goal of connecting 98% of Canadians by 2026.
Can the Minister of Rural Economic Development update the House on what is being done to achieve this goal in communities across my riding of Malpeque and in all of Prince Edward Island?
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- Jun/13/22 2:48:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague for Malpeque for the warm welcome I received when I was in his riding recently, and I am so proud that while I was there we announced a historic agreement with the Government of Prince Edward Island to be the sixth province to partner with us to get the remaining communities in its province connected.
It is a historic investment of $20 million to connect the remaining homes. That brings us closer to our commitment of 98% of Canadians by 2026, and 100% by 2030, being connected with affordable and reliable high-speed Internet.
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- Jun/13/22 2:48:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals insist the police asked them to invoke the Emergencies Act. Police forces say they never asked. The Liberals insist the Act was needed in order to tow the trucks away, which is not the case, as all border blockades were resolved beforehand and it was the province that leveraged the licences of tow truck owners to get their co-operation. The allegations about Russian and foreign funding were false, and the accusations of arson were also false.
Will the Prime Minister admit that invoking the Emergencies Act was just to punish those who do not agree with him?
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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 2:50:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has repeatedly stated that the Emergencies Act was invoked at the recommendation of police. However, police officials have testified that they, in fact, did not ask for the invocation, and the minister has not been able to identify any police agency that specifically asked for the Act's invocation, as he states. Canadians do not know what to believe any more and do not trust this misunderstood minister and the government.
Will the minister do the right thing and just admit he made it up, or will he continue to double down and lose what little credibility he has left?
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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 2:51:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the public safety minister said nine times that he invoked the freeze and seize Emergencies Act at the request of the police. The RCMP denied this, the acting Ottawa police chief denied this and even the former Ottawa police chief denied this.
How can Canadians trust the minister or his government?
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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 2:52:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised Canadians they would expect openness and transparency, but it appears this is not the case with our public safety minister. Words matter. Clarity matters. Repeating extensively inside and outside of the House that law enforcement asked for the act is categorically opposed to the narrative that they asked for the measures contained in the act.
How can Canadians trust the minister when he has repeatedly misled them?
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