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Context: House Hansard - 126 - Nov/14/22

Mr. Michael Barrett (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC)

Nov/14/22 6:40:27 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, as we have heard many times in the House, the public safety minister claims that the government's use of the Emergencies Act was done at the request of law enforcement. What we have heard from this side of the House and what we have heard from the police of jurisdiction is that the police did not ask the government to invoke the Emergencies Act. We have heard today that CSIS director David Vigneault has said that at no point did the service assess that the protests in Ottawa or elsewhere constituted a threat to the security of Canada. Cabinet was fully briefed on all of these details, that police had not asked them to invoke the act and that there had not been deemed a threat to national security. However, the minister continues to mislead Canadians, spreading disinformation. It is incredibly troubling that the government, ministers of the Crown, would use an emergency for political gain. That is what we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was an emergency situation. There was a new virus, and people did not know what was happening. One of the first things the government tried to do, in an unprecedented move, was to give itself the power to raise taxes and to spend money without parliamentary oversight for a period spanning two years. That is what it did in the face of an actual emergency. When we had an unprecedented situation, where Canadians had taken to the streets and the Prime Minister disagreed with what those protesters were saying, the government claimed that was an emergency and invoked never before used powers, claiming that it was done on the advice of law enforcement. However, whether it was the Ottawa police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the military police, no one, no police service asked the minister or the government to invoke the Emergencies Act. The rest of the information around the discussions and the decisions were not the subject of the question I asked the minister. He claimed police asked him to invoke the act. We know that is not true. We have a convention of ministerial accountability. When a minister is misleading or untruthful, there is a convention that the minister resigns. Why has the minister not done that?

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Context: House Hansard - 126 - Nov/14/22

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

Nov/14/22 6:44:04 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, in response to the hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, I am pleased to speak to the Government of Canada's extensive consultation leading up to the use of the Emergencies Act. I will remind my colleagues that, in early February, disruptions and illegal blockades at Canada's border crossings had halted international trade and supply chains right when Canada's businesses were striving to take part in an ongoing global economic recovery. These illegal activities had shut down small businesses due to safety concerns. The City of Ottawa, the City of Windsor and the Province of Ontario had all declared states of emergency. We had also observed illegal blockades in Alberta and Manitoba. At the time, we maintained close contact with law enforcement, and provincial, territorial and municipal officials to share information and expertise, with the collective goal of ending these blockades peacefully. Invoking the Emergencies Act was a difficult, but necessary, decision for our government to make for the good of Canada. It was not taken lightly, but factors in the length of these illegal blockades, as well as the volatile and unpredictable environment at the protest sites, were considered. I will remind my colleagues that the reasons for issuing the declaration of a public order emergency are set out in a public document of explanation, as required in subsection 58(1) of the Emergencies Act. The document explains in detail why the Emergencies Act was invoked and is available for everyone to read, in line with our commitment to full transparency on this important issue. Furthermore, the houses of Parliament were provided with a document, which is also public, that documents all the consultations we undertook before invoking the act. These documents highlight that, between the end of January and February 14, the escalation of the threats across the country had been regularly communicated by provinces, territories, municipalities and police of jurisdiction to the federal government. These partners requested the federal government's action in supporting police of jurisdiction to address the threat. It was within this environment that the Emergencies Act was invoked in mid-February. The decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was made after careful consideration of all other possible solutions to address this ongoing situation. The Emergencies Act provided law enforcement with the additional tools to do their jobs and bring an end to the blockades safely and peacefully. Law enforcement was able to prohibit public assemblies that may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of the peace, prevent adults from bringing children to these areas and prohibit people from travelling to these assemblies. They were also able to clamp down on the use of provisions of property in support of an unlawful assembly, such as diesel for illegally idling trucks that were creating a blockade. We were also able to designate new protected sites or no go zones. This tool was instrumental in helping us bring an end to the blockades safely. These actions, done in consultation with provinces, territories, municipalities and law enforcement, were a measured, comprehensive response to the threat to our communities' safety and security. The Government of Canada recognizes that it has a great responsibility to keep its citizens and communities safe. Through the temporary, time-limited use of the Emergencies Act, we fulfilled that responsibility and safely brought an end to the illegal blockades in our communities.

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Context: House Hansard - 126 - Nov/14/22

Mr. Michael Barrett

Nov/14/22 6:47:53 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, let us be clear that the Minister of Public Safety said that police had requested that the government invoke the Emergencies Act. I did not hear anything from the member opposite to corroborate that statement, but we have heard in public, in committees and at press conferences from the police is that they did not say what the minister has said they asked for. The question is this: Who is not telling the truth? Is it the head of the RCMP, the head of OPP, the head of the Ottawa police or the minister? Has there been some type of collusion, a conspiracy, against the Minister of Public Safety, or is he simply not telling the truth?

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