SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 111 - Oct/17/22

Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, CPC)

Oct/17/22 6:01:49 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, I take this opportunity to thank my constituents for their care and encouragement. I could not do my job without their support. On February 14, 2022, the NDP-Liberal socialist coalition issued a proclamation declaring a public order emergency. The anti-democratic, bouncy castle emergency order has been recognized around the world as a despicable, egregious violation of human rights. Canada's image has been tarnished internationally. Canadians have been encouraging me to follow up on my request of the Prime Minister to stop his unacceptable campaign of hate and divisiveness against ordinary Canadians. Now that the Emergencies Act inquiry is under way, it is time to start focusing on the deep wounds in Canadian society created by the Prime Minister and his profane coalition. Liberals need to accept that many Canadians believe those who disagree with them on policy matters are not wrong. Canadians struggle to understand how those on the big government, radical left side of the political fence could possibly hold so many wrong-sided views. The trucker strike was brought about by widespread resentment of hysterical reporting throughout the pandemic by the Liberal bought-off media. The attempted cancellation of anyone who dissented over lockdowns, whether on scientific grounds or civil liberty grounds, further exacerbated the problem. How can Canadians trust the Prime Minister or the Liberal Party when he and his caucus are on public record as misleading Canadians nine times on the need to invoke the Emergencies Act? For example, the NDP-Liberal coalition representative stated that “the invocation of the Emergencies Act...was only put forward after police officials told us they needed this special power”. That is false. No police service asked for the Emergencies Act. Next, the NDP-Liberal coalition Minister of Finance got in on the act by grossly inflating estimates of the freedom convoy's impact on the economy. While Canadians are struggling to buy groceries and heat their homes, this same minister directed public servants to run around and waste taxpayer dollars by begging local Ottawa businesses to accept money for non-existent losses. In fact, after the severity of the Liberal pandemic lockdown, many businesses enjoyed a boom in business. The Prime Minister and his coalition's false accusations are interpreted by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as accusation in a mirror. This is the rhetorical practice of falsely accusing others of conducting, plotting or committing precisely the same transgressions one plans to commit against them. The claim by the Prime Minister and senior members in the Liberal Party that members of the freedom convoy were racists, misogynists and undesirables is a textbook example of the demonizing and dehumanizing that comes by labelling certain groups in society as undesirable. An appalling example of this divisiveness is when the Prime Minister accused a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, my Conservative colleague, the member for Thornhill, who is Jewish, of standing with racists. Canadians see the hypocrisy in the Prime Minister accusing others of being racist when the Prime Minister enjoys dressing up in costumes and in blackface to make fun of other people's cultures and skin colour. The accusation is a propaganda technique that has been used in non-genocidal and other forms of persecution committed against Jews, Blacks and first nations, among others. It is time to face some inconvenient truths about the Prime Minister. His behaviour is dividing our country. Being angry all the time is not demonstrating leadership. To this day, members of the Liberal Party refuse to condemn the Prime Minister's racist act of wearing blackface.

615 words

Context: House Hansard - 111 - Oct/17/22

Ms. Pam Damoff (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)

Oct/17/22 6:06:05 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, holy smokes, the rhetoric and misinformation coming from the other side of the House is a bit hard to respond to, but I am going to do my best. Last winter, safety concerns from illegal blockades had shut down businesses, prevented citizens from moving about in several Canadian cities and cut off supply chains, hampering the ability of small business owners to contribute to the well-being of their families and communities. We had a large blockade in the city of Ottawa and other communities were also impacted. Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, Quebec and cities within these provinces all faced illegal blockades that threatened people's safety and livelihoods. The situation was so critical that the Province of Ontario, City of Windsor and City of Ottawa all declared states of emergency. The Government of Canada knew that a safe resolution to these illegal blockades would require the collaboration of all partners. That is why we engaged closely with law enforcement and provincial, territorial and municipal officials to share situational updates and intelligence and explore the ways we could support one another. These discussions were ongoing throughout the crisis. The decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was informed by these discussions and consultations. The ultimate goal was always to bring an end to the blockades peacefully. In full transparency, we have made public a document that provides the reasons for issuing the declaration of a public order emergency. This fulfills the requirement in subsection 58(1) of the Emergencies Act, and the Government of Canada is pleased to provide this public information. In addition, the Government of Canada has provided a public document describing the consultations we undertook before invoking the act. This document clearly demonstrates that we were closely engaged with all key partners in order to bring all expertise to the table to solve this public order crisis. I would encourage my colleagues to review these public documents. They would make clear that, for several weeks last winter, illegal blockades were growing, strengthening and threatening law and order in numerous communities. Provinces, territories, municipalities and law enforcement all clearly communicated their views and concerns to the Government of Canada. Crucially, these partners asked the Government of Canada to lend support to the police of jurisdiction to counter the illegal activities. We explored all other possible strategies to counter and to bring a peaceful conclusion to the many illegal blockades in Canadian communities at the time. It was at this time, and following extensive and ongoing discussions, that the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was made. This was not an easy decision and we took the path with an appropriate sense of gravitas. Importantly, invoking the act provided law enforcement with additional tools that allowed them to bring an end to the blockades. I must reinforce that this peaceful resolution was achieved, in large part, because of our close and ongoing consultation with provinces, territories, municipalities and law enforcement. The Government of Canada did not keep the Emergencies Act in place any longer than necessary. We revoked it as soon as possible once it had achieved its intended purpose and law enforcement no longer needed the additional tools.

531 words

Context: House Hansard - 111 - Oct/17/22

Ms. Pam Damoff

Oct/17/22 6:10:46 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, let us take a step back and remember what it was like here in Ottawa last winter. While the hon. member and many of her colleagues were playing footsies with the illegal blockade, many Canadians were suffering. Many Canadian businesses were suffering. They were being held hostage by these illegal blockades. People did not feel safe going about their lives in their own communities. I am pleased to share with the hon. member a quote from the interim chief of the Ottawa Police Service, who told the following to members at the public safety committee: “I...want to thank the federal government for invoking the federal Emergencies Act.” He went on to say, “From a policing perspective, the legislation provided the OPS with the ability to prevent people from participating in this unlawful protest”. He referred to the invocation of the act as a “critical piece” of their efforts.

157 words